Tale of The Mirage
by Jackie Avocado
Summary: Strange things are happening across Remnant. Long ago, a mother and father perished. Long ago, a criminal drowned in her own blood. Now, a superstitious village dwindles to extinction. Now, a boy weeps for his savior. Now, friends and adversaries alike learn that they must hold their loved ones close...or risk regret.
1. PROLOGUE

**TALE OF THE MIRAGE**

**FOREWORD**

_Why am I posting this on someone else's account? _

_Because notifications are a bitch and this account's owner reads them more than I do. _

_**-Ancient Fanfiction Proverb, by Author, [redacted]**_

* * *

**Double FOREWORD**

_Apparently, one of my friends decided to make this, which is a **prequel** to a RWBY fic that I might do in the future, as a Kitsune faunus SI. _

_(Send help, he's locked me in the basement, Zelretch is an accomplice!)_

**_-Jackie Avocado, memelord, professional bottom_**

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**Vacuo**

**Unknown Rural Province**

_Twelve Years Before the Fall of Beacon_

"_You're sure?" The Huntress squinted at him. _

_The boy's tear-streaked face was dusty. His eyes seemed hollow, disbelieving, gazing downward. But nonetheless, these words did register. He nodded. _

_He didn't seem to be lying. The Huntress sighed. She decided not to push him. His psyche rather seemed like an object made of thin glass on a pedestal. _

_If she shook the pedestal, she got a feeling that glass would end up shattering and cut someone in the process. _

_She turned away. Still, she didn't know what to make of the situation. _

_According to witnesses, the abusive ex of the boy's father had come and killed both of his parents. It was a situation straight out of some horror drama. But the strange part was that the ex had searched the entire house, yet could not find the boy. Granted, she was rushed to finish the job before witnesses reported or the law enforcement arrived. It was assumed that the had wisely run away. They'd said he was sharp for his age. They'd said his instincts were seldom wrong. _

_But upon returning to the crime scene the next day, they found him, on his knees, in shock, in the center of the floor. Rushing him to his feet, they made sure he was alright, even if he was unresponsive. _

_That's when the mystery started. _

_No witnesses from outside had seen him exit. So he'd never left. Maybe he'd hidden? _

_But it didn't end there. _

_Once he was on his feet, they examined the floorboards. _

_He hadn't moved since the stabbing. _

_So how was it there was a splatter of dried blood under his legs when he wasn't even wounded? How could the splatter of blood have gotten under his body from the other side of the room? _

_So when the Huntress who would soon be the boy's adoptive parent asked if the boy was sure he hadn't moved, the case was left as a mystery, only to be mused about by the detectives to no avail. At least, though, the more important matter of detaining the abusive, psychotic ex was accomplished. _

_No more than four days later, that ex was found with her lungs full of blood and a hole in her back, face down on her cot. A clean displacement of flesh and bone that had happened while she'd slept. She had drowned in her own wretched lymph. _

_No one had entered or exited the cell. _

_And so the mystery continued..._

**Vacuo**

**Unknown Rural Province**

_Approximately Two Years Before the Fall of Beacon_

_He'd already lost his family once. _

_Now he was going to lose his family all over again. _

_So many had failed to bring her to death's door, but where countless skilled assassins and warriors had failed..._

_...terminal illness #4 would drag her across the precipice. _

_The young man gritted his teeth. He clenched his fists. His adoptive mother had been nothing but kind to him since that night. She'd raised him as her own. She'd taught him everything he knew. _

_She'd told him that he'd been a blessing to her. She'd wanted a child, she said, but she was destined to never bear children. _

_He held her hand at her bedside as she struggled to breathe in her sleep. It had been two weeks since the ailment had truly visibly emerged. It was getting worse and worse with each passing day. _

"_I've seen one mother buried," he wept helplessly. "Why doesn't it hurt any less the second time?" _

"_Silly..." She coughed weakly, trying for a smile. "Pain is...pain...didn't I teach you...that...?" _

"_Mom!" He bolted up, and kept her hand tight in his own. "Those specialists from Atlas said they were coming to examine you! You're important to so many people, they're trying to help! Just a little longer!" _

"_My child..." Selene's smile faded. Tears welled in her eyes. "Please...don't make this harder than it has to be..." _

_He stopped dead in his tracks. His heart felt cold. _

"_What are you saying?" _

"_They may have a cure..." she rasped. "They may...not. And even if they...do...we may not...be able to afford it..." _

"_No, Mom, I don't care. Whatever it takes, I'll do it." _

"_That's what I'm afraid...of." Selene's eyes closed. "That night...you didn't lie to me...when you said you didn't...move." _

_The boy was silent. _

"_Tell me the truth..." Selene's eyes opened again, and looked into her child's eyes. Once again hollow and in despair. _

"_Did you...kill the murderer?" _

_Again, silence. _

"_No." _

_Selene studied her child's face. Once again, tear-streaked. Once again, dusty. Once again, grieving. Just like it was ten years ago. _

_But there was no truth in his answer this time. _

_She closed her eyes quietly. _

"_Are you Selene's boy?" A neutral male voice addressed the grieving Huntsman-in-training. _

"_...yes." He responded, not turning around. _

"_We're going to need you to leave this room while we examine her," his assistant, a shorter woman with Atlas regalia on, ordered. _

_Lacking the strength to argue, Selene's beloved child left the room without another word. _

_It felt like an eternity that he was away from her side. And every second of it, he regretted his answer. For all he knew, his last word to her was now an empty lie. _

_Finally, the Atlas specialists emerged. They handed their client a copy of their diagnosis. _

_His hopes sank as he realized what this meant. _

_The disease, in short, was curable. The catch? It was improbable that they could assemble the proper funds, but still tantalizingly possible. _

_Yet, Atlas wouldn't help. As great as she was...to them, she was just another Huntress. And not even one from the same Kingdom. _

_They could always get another. _

_But he knew he wasn't out of options. _

_He wanted revenge, once, a long time ago. He knew they wouldn't allow it. No one would let him. _

_Didn't stop him from pulling out that monster of a woman's left lung and watching sickly red liquid fill the cavity while she flailed limply. Watching the struggle subside silently. _

_He just had to take matters into his own hands. _

_As the Atlas specialists departed from the town, he watched them leave through the back door of his small house. Once they were out of sight, he cast one last glance at Selene as she slept. He breathed in, and out, and made his promise to himself. _

_He would do whatever it took. _

_That's what his enemies would become afraid of. _


	2. A MIRAGE AGAINST THE SUN

**CHAPTER ONE - A MIRAGE AGAINST THE SUN**

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Approximately One Year Before the Fall of Beacon_

Being the top of the class was hard.

Probably not for the reason you're thinking.

It was a constant battle to the top even after you'd reached the metaphorical peak. I mean this in relative strength compared to my peers...and socially. It mostly had to do with the social aspect.

I'd missed a few of the airships coming in because I had been in class, learning about all manner of things that I would soon forget. Mostly the stories of Professor Port.

I turned my gaze skyward to note the descending ship as my numerous tails and black hair swished in the wind.

I'd made a game out of guessing which kingdom the people inside were from. Given that the exteriors were relatively identical, if not _completely _identical, it helped prevent bias. And no one announced the name of the Kingdom either upon landing.

They were about to open the doors. I squinted, and suddenly...

"_The arrivals from the Kingdom of Vacuo!" _

"Damn! Ruining my game here. They didn't do this last time. Whose idea was this!?" I shouted out loud.

No one took responsibility.

"Sooner or later, _one _of you scumbags will own up," I muttered. "It's only a matter of time. Oh, well, who are these fellow festival-goers?"

They'd already left the ship while I'd been looking around for the jerk who ruined my game. Now the sin was _twofold. _This policy change would not stand.

* * *

"Ozpin! It's an emergency!" I started pounding on the door. Glynda walked out and I just barely managed to not clock her in her scowling face. Good thing, too. She could be scary when angry.

Aside from the scowling green eyes, she wore her usual white top with a black, arrow-tailed dress. Her blonde hair was tied back with the exception of a stray lock that hung near her glasses.

"What is it, Jack? Ozpin's meeting with a confidant." Glynda crossed her arms.

"Some idiot told them to announce the Kingdom names before the ship doors open! Are you _joking _me? Is this a chuckle to the bureaucracy of this accursed institution? What _more _can you take from me?" I ranted and raved. "I need to speak to Ozpin _immediately!_"

"Well, we can take the dorm room of the _idiot _who just insulted my policy change." Glynda peered over her glasses at me, glaring daggers.

Oh.

That's an oopsie.

"G-Great policy change, ma'am!" I began to scurry backwards. "Have a nice day! Really appreciate your initiative!"

"Don't let it happen again," the Professor warned. "Or should I tell Ozpin about..."

"SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU, I'M SCURRYING TOO LOUD!" I roared as I moonwalked at 2x video speed out the door.

But no amount of loud scurrying could prevent me from hearing the eyeroll of disappointment from the headmaster's office. I squeezed my eyes shut as I ran.

_It's okay, they can't fire me. I'm carrying this stable through the festival! I'll be-_

I smacked directly into some poor bastard while running in a stereotypical eyes-closed method. He collapsed backwards, as he had apparently been facing the other way.

I watched him catch himself and turn quickly around. He studied me intently.

He was a fair bit shorter than the average for a male student. He had seemingly windswept hair, like he'd lived his life facing a constant strong breeze, so none of his manelike black hair was in his face. The exception was a single dangling forelock. His eyes were an onyx color, and he wore a lighter-gray bodysuit plated in some areas with thin, protective armor. He had a belt on his waist, and from that belt hung two intricate knives.

"Wow, gosh, I'm sorry about that. But I just had to run away from the Professor who has undoubtedly earned 'Most Likely to Kill an Ursa With a Single Glance' sometime in her career. Surely you understand..." I trailed off.

Huh, he wasn't from here. Either way, I guessed this introduction would still serve as a good impression as any of how this academy worked, so I wasn't ashamed.

"You..." I pointed at him, guessing. "You're from...Vacuo?"

He groaned.

"Why did they start announcing these things?" he lamented. "It was so much fun to ruin people's' perspectives on Atlas' culture by acting like a total jerk and pretending I was from there. If, of course, you were going to call Atlas customs 'culture,' and if, also, you thought they _weren't _jerks before."

My grin cracked. Miles away, I felt some roaming Grimm have an anxiety attack.

"You. I like you."

"I do too," he smiled back. Then he paused. "Oh, whoops, sorry. Socially awkward."

"Nah, fam, it's cool, I get it."

He chuckled, then sighed.

"Are you participating in the tournament?" he asked.

"Is the sky blue?" I proudly responded.

He pointed at the setting sun, and I got his point.

"Okay, fine, wise guy, but I am in the tournament no matter _what_ part of the day it is." I jokingly scowled.

"Hm...that's unlucky for me," my new acquaintance frowned. "I like you. Unfortunately, I am _also _in the tournament."

"Are you a team leader? How good are your teammates? Are you..."

He stopped me, then looked around and ensured no one would hear him.

"My team is terrible, and I'm the only sane person on it," he groaned to me.

"Wait, who's your team?"

My acquaintance shrugged. "You wouldn't have...eh, have you heard of...Team CYAN?"

"No, why would I-"

"Exactly." He seemed to slump down. "I _hope _they at least don't get us destroyed in the first round."

"Well, my team's JSPR," I said. "Hopefully our colleagues get along as well as we do."

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Cafeteria - JSPR's Table_

"I do _not _trust those people." Pauline stared across the cafeteria at a band of Vacuo vagabonds whose effort was not being spent eating, but rather balling up straw wrappers and spitballing them at surrounding tables. No one seemed to notice, and whenever they got a rise out of their victims, they would giggle, hissing like a bunch of snakes.

Pauline wore a concerned expression as she studied our would-be antagonists. Her eyes were deep blue, like the sky or the ocean. She had a slightly darker complexion than the rest of us, but leaned fair. She had longer brunette hair; it came down to her middle back, and she had let it down, since she did not expect to be in combat. She, like my three teammates, was wearing a school uniform at this time.

"Ditto," Regalia shook her head. "Are they _really _in the tournament?"

Regalia wore a less suspicious and more sour expression as she glared the rascals' backs down. She was wearing smooth, gold-colored bracers over her forearms, which were visible now that she had rolled up her sleeves. She wore her dark red hair in a fishtail braid, and her eyes were vivid scarlet.

"Their leader has told me that...unfortunately, he is not fighting alone," I muttered to my teammates. "So I can only assume they are."

Sasha seemed itching to fire a spitball over at their table. She was really holding back the urge. To her credit, it wasn't easy for me either as I realized that I, too, was holding a straw. Unfortunately, given how trigger-happy the _entire _cafeteria might be if we missed, I wasn't going to try.

Sasha, on the other hand, was a quieter nerd-type. She was extremely book smart, but had a sore lack of common sense, and sometimes self-preservation. She had monolid eyes, shorter black hair in a bob, and black-framed rectangular glasses. She was short, but her greatest advantage was quick thinking and quick feet.

"Sasha..." I put my hand over her straw-arm. "Please, lower your weapon."

"I can end this, Jack," she whispered with quiet intensity. "Just _one _spitball..."

"Sasha, darling, if you remember last year..." I started to grow more and more panicked. "Just put the spitball down..."

Suddenly, I felt a tiny bit of paper tap the side of my head. I glanced to the side.

It was a wet, balled-up straw wrapper.

Snakelike hissing laughter followed from behind.

_Sss-sss-sss..._

Sasha looked horrified. So did Pauline and Regalia.

Because that table of pedantic nerds had pushed the spitball button.

They shouldn'ta did that.

"Nah, you know what, I changed my mind. They're dead. Fire at will, General."

Sasha stood up. With an inferno blazing in her eyes, she unleashed the shot that would start the most horrific war Remnant had ever seen.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Ozpin and Glynda's Office_

Glynda looked up from her desk.

"Oh, you _have _to be kidding me," she groaned. She gripped her head with her hands. Ozpin's desk started to shake.

"What is it?" Qrow, who was leaning against the wall, chugging a flask, dared to ask the fateful question.

"Since the _last _policy change was so popular, I propose another," she seethed. "I have yet to put it into legalese, but the end result is...undesirable."

"It's Jack, isn't it?" Qrow sighed.

"Who _else_?" Glynda shouted, sweeping out of the room.

Qrow watched her leave. Then he glanced at Ozpin's desk. The Headmaster was watching the security cameras with a dead expression.

"Oh, come on, Oz," Qrow shrugged. "You could have seen this coming. She's very stressed lately."

Ozpin sipped from his mug.

"That isn't my concern," Ozpin answered coolly. "I'm not naming names, but it's someone else's prerogative. Someone whose name starts with 'J.'"

Qrow's eyes widened. Ozpin took a sip, then clarified.

"James Ironwood," Ozpin said.

Qrow's eyes widened again.

Ozpin took another sip.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Destroyed Cafeteria_

"All right!" the member of Team CYAN I was holding by his boxers declared. "We'll call it a draw."

"Oh, no you _don't _Monty Python me. I won this and you _know _it."

"All right, 40-60?" he asked hopefully.

"WE'RE NOT HAGGLING! I WIN! YOU LOSE! GOOD DAY, SIR!" I raged.

"Hey, Casper, why don't you get over here and actually _do _something about this?" the boxer-wearing cretin shouted at his leader.

Casper, my new friend, looked up at me holding his teammate. He seemed to be weighing his options as he sat on the only intact table in the room. Well...what was left of it. The rest of the table was riddled with holes from the spitballs. Around Casper was a perfect circle of untouched material.

Bless him, he chose the best way to answer.

"You got yourselves into this one. It falls on _you _to get yourselves out of it," Casper droned as if he'd said this a thousand times.

"Oh, bull-_crap._ This is just an excuse for you to enjoy the beating, isn't it?" another member of CYAN argued.

"It probably is," Casper admitted.

"How improper," the boxer-wearing cretin taunted, with Regalia's straw at his neck.

"And this from the guy baring his boxers to this strapping young lad, awaiting a brutal pounding." Casper raised an eyebrow, making his voice mockingly sensual.

The entire cafeteria went silent. The rest of my team seemed to wipe blood away from their noses given that mental image.

"I believe that just about covers it," Casper turned around, and hoisted his book back up. "I hope you learn from your..._punishment._"

I gleefully raised a perforated paddle. The boxers slipped and his torso hung suspended by the front of his pants.

"Whoa whoa whoa wait wait wait timeout!" he shouted in rapid-fire as I swung the paddle.

"_JACK!" _The voice of unbridled disciplinary fury rang through the cafeteria.

I looked at no one in particular, and my arm froze instinctively.

"Uh...oh..." I muttered.

Glynda stalked towards me, waving her riding crop and fixing the tables behind her.

"I leave...for _one _minute...to do some _paperwork..._and somehow...I discover...you...created..._MORE,_" Glynda's voice started to sound demonic.

I dropped the boxer-wearing cretin, half because it would make it harder to get away, and half because she scared me.

I began to inch towards the last window in the building that remained intact.

Pauline, trapped under some stray rubble, looked at me with pleading fear in her eyes.

"Jack, please..." she whimpered. "Don't leave me here alone with her."

"_Don't worry, Jack,_" Glynda roared. "_Since the chains were too lenient, I have devised several other methods."_

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Headmaster's Office_

"Hey, Oz," Qrow addressed the Headmaster, leaning against the glass panels of the back wall and watching everyone's favorite fox-tailed jokester hightail it away from the cafeteria. "Remember when you said it was someone else's prerogative?"

"Yes," Ozpin answered. "Has anything changed?"

"Well, Oz, the _stressor's _prerogative is running away before Glynda catches him. Your so-called _solution _is probably jerking off somewhere to the might of the Atlas sovereignty, or some crap. This is _not _fixing her stress," Qrow shouted. "Do you _know _what's going to happen when she gets back up here?"

"Think of it this way, Qrow," Ozpin explained. "At least she's still not here, and we can plan for that eventuality."

Another sip.

"That, and I've admittedly made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child in this world."

"Damn it, Oz."

Another sip. The conversation ended.

* * *

**Vale**

**Off-Campus District**

"Oh...man..." I huffed. "I finally made it...off campus. I need to stay out of Glynda's way for a few days..."

A lot of the town recognized me. They saw me on the tail end of fleeing campus, and a crowd was starting to gather, wondering if there was trouble.

I waved a hand to indicate nothing was wrong, and the civilians seemed to get the hint. Slowly but surely, they dispersed.

I hadn't eaten anything, despite being in the cafeteria, before abandoning my team to the disciplinary demon, Glynda, and going on a rather long sprint. My stomach growled.

I looked around for something to eat. I supposed there weren't any Grimm around, but even if there were, this was a biological thing, not an energy thing.

And man, if I was going to be desperate enough to ingest Grimm with my mouth...I might as well off myself with one of their sharp bits.

God, it was so bad now that my hunger had broken through into indecision. Now I was so hungry that the options present in the town square were paralyzing because so _many _things appealed to me.

I closed my eyes, and spun around. I resolved to eat at the first place I pointed to.

When my feet stopped, and my finger had reached a conclusion, I opened my eyes...

...and cursed my luck.

How could I be expected to eat at a subsidiary refining factory of the Schnee Dust Corporation? The building was closer than a few other restaurants, sure, only sectioned off by fences, but it would _literally _burn going down. I began to turn away and try again.

But as I turned...I saw a flicker of motion out of the corner of my eye. On the rooftops, silhouetted against the sun. Humanoid...

I squinted. Who'd be skulking up on a roof so close to the Vytal Festival? That was practically _asking _to get caught and detained. They took security seriously to a degree that even _I _wouldn't chance messing with. If you even _looked _suspicious...you'd at least be grilled in questioning.

I blinked, teary-eyed from the sun.

The humanoid figure was no longer there.

I glanced around, slightly confused, scanning the crowd for anyone else who might have seen the figure.

Somehow, everyone seemed completely unaware that anything was going on. To be fair, I hadn't heard anything near me. Nothing that would indicate someone jumping down. No disturbance in the crowd that would indicate disturbance of any kind.

Maybe it was the festival. The nerves getting to me.

Unlikely, but possible.

I sat down at a burger place. Ordered lunch. But something wasn't sitting well with me.

My eyes had never fooled me before, and I didn't think they'd start now. There _had _to have been someone on that roof.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_JSPR's Dorm Room_

"Sorry," I mumbled, guilty. "Regalia, you _know _what would have happened if she'd caught me."

Regalia glared into my eyes.

"Yes, I _do _know, because it happened to _me!" _The redhead blushed indignantly. "My spotless record..._gone._ You're lucky you're adorable. I'm still waiting for Pauline and Sasha, but I have a feeling that they may not be as lucky as someone with _my _performance in school."

"Thank you, Regalia," I said, and shook my head. "I...I lost my cool. It won't happen again."

"Don't mention it," she sighed, and ruffled my hair. "I can't stay mad at you..."

At that moment, Sasha kicked our door down. Regalia, quick as a flash, withdrew her hand and sculpted her face into the image of utmost poise.

"Ah, Sasha, how was..." Regalia started, but looked at Sasha's wrists and blushed. "S-Sasha, are those rope marks-"

"Uh, I-I..." Sasha quickly pulled her sleeve down over the obvious rope marks. "L-Listen, that's not why I'm here. It's...Glynda left for something urgent, but before she left, I heard someone tell her what it was."

"What was it?" I asked, concerned. Glynda wouldn't just stop before someone had learned their lesson for any old reason. "Why did she leave?"

"There's a Schnee Dust Corporation facility that something got stolen from," Sasha informed us. "That's what I heard. So, naturally, hearing something that unusual had happened, I did some research. But it's weird. No one knows when. No one knows even _how. _This facility wasn't some walk-in-the-park burglary, and yet, no trace was left of the invader. Speculations range from some kind of internal conspiracy of unknown proportions to a large heist."

Hearing this...something was bothering me.

_I saw a flicker of motion out of the corner of my eye. On the rooftops, silhouetted against the sun. Humanoid..._

_I blinked, teary-eyed from the sun. _

_The humanoid figure was no longer there. _

My eyes widened as I recalled.

"Hold on," I asked Sasha. "Where was this facility?"

"I don't know the street or facility by name," she answered. "But it was a serious, highly crucial security breach. The reason Glynda had to go was because they need a lot of skill to figure out suspects with what little they have, but more than anything, it's because the facility was just off-campus."

"There's no _way _that was a coincidence," I breathed. "But..._how_?"

"Jack?" Regalia scrutinized my face. "Do you know something?"

"Call it being in the right place at the right time." I stood up. "Before I heard about this, I'd just gotten off campus to escape Glynda. But I passed the refining plant...and there was someone on the roof near it."

"What did they look like?" Sasha gasped. "Jack, this better not be a joke."

"Hey, if what I'm saying could happen to help the Schnee Dust Corporation, you can't take it lightly. You know I don't like their attitude," I answered seriously. "But I didn't see much of the figure against the sun, before they..._vanished._"

"Vanished? Like...some kind of mirage?" Regalia looked puzzled.

"I blinked, and they were completely gone. Vanished is _definitely _the word," I answered. "I thought it might be my eyes playing tricks on me, too, but this news emerged soon afterwards, and I'm starting to think something's going on here."

"There's something more," Sasha looked pale. "They stole something _immensely _valuable. I can't even _imagine _setting up any kind of inside job for this purpose, because around every corner of the plan, you'd fear the smallest shred of loyalty to the Schnee Corporation. But even so...how would an outsider even be successful? That's what I can't put my head around."

"What did he steal?"

"The Corporation's keeping the exact subject of the theft secret. And really, depending on if it has inherent value or ransom value, that's important. But either way...this could be really bad if it's happening close to the festival. We should tell Ozpin."

"Yes, and we should _definitely _tell him _before _Glynda gets back, so come on!"

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Headmaster's Office_

"Oz, open up. This is important. It's not about Glynda's policy change this time," I called. "It's about the Schnee refinement subsidiary that got burgled."

The door slammed open. I found myself staring into the jade green eyes of my nightmares.

"...mercy?" I asked Glynda meekly.


	3. THE MYSTERIOUS HUNTRESS

**CHAPTER TWO - THE MYSTERIOUS HUNTRESS**

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Glynda's Supervised Dueling Class_

_Despite _my aching buttocks, the combat instruction between students the next day was very simple approaching the tournament. Glynda matched me against some Noname, whom I beat. There were a few other middle-of-the-road fights, one of which prompted Qrow to slip inside the room and watch curiously.

When all the others had gone back to their seats, Glynda glanced at the clock.

"We seem to have just over five minutes left in class." Her eyes swept over the room. "Just enough time for one more match..."

I could hear light, tired snoring behind me. And I knew Glynda could, too. Not that the snoring was loud, but the entire rest of the class was literally silent and avoiding eye contact trying to not be called on. My only prayer was that Glynda would take it easy on whomever this was.

"...you." Glynda's eyes pierced through me to the person behind my seat on the next row up. "Are you...sleeping?"

In response, the snoring continued. I felt the class' psyches collectively flinch in anticipation of the coming storm.

But Glynda just glared.

"Wake up!" she barked. The snoring abruptly stopped.

Slowly, the person behind me seemed to shift his weight and sit up, stretching. He groaned as he did so, then spoke drowsily.

"Sorry, Professor," he yawned. "Nights are rough for me."

Qrow seemed to be trying to hide his amusement, and expectations that this guy - Casper, the new guy, by the way - was going to be beaten down by one of his classmates. If he was lucky.

The alternative was Glynda, but it seemed that after tormenting me, she was in a better mood.

"Casper...Lovewright, is it?" Glynda raised an eyebrow, looking at the roster. "Do you treat your instructors in Vacuo this way?"

"No, usually I miss the whole class sleeping," Casper's voice started to perk up. "I mean it. I'm trying to be better for you guys at Beacon."

A few snickers and giggles. Then the entire class, along with me, seemed to realize that he wasn't joking. Qrow seemed low-key horrified in the back at his brazen...actually, his _foolish_ admission.

Casper was squandering Glynda's good graces, and I did _not _envy what was about to happen.

Glynda's eyes narrowed.

"Then perhaps you'd like a rude awakening like the one you've given me," she answered. "I've decided that _you _can take the last five-minute slot."

"I get five whole minutes? Can we leave early if I beat them before that?" Casper asked.

"Sure. You are welcome to," Glynda agreed. Then she motioned to my teammate, Regalia. "Ms. Bruna. You will be Mr. Lovewright's opponent."

_Dear God, Glynda went for the throat, _I thought. _Regalia's vicious and talented as hell. Why would Glynda want Casper to wake up just to get knocked out again?_

Soon the two were on the floor. Regalia ended up sailing over the seats and landing perfectly on the arena floor.

It turned out that Casper was the kind of person to shamble down the stairs and waste a little time.

_Four minutes and thirty seconds left. _Guess we wouldn't be leaving early.

"And here I thought you were the only member of CYAN with any kind of courtesy," Regalia jabbed. "I guess your courtesy only extends to _not engaging in spitball wars_."

"This from the girl who fired the second shot?" Casper reached behind his back and unsheathed two knives. He made a _tsk _sound. "You're _some_ kind of hypocrite."

Regalia extended a spear and glared into his eyes. "This won't take long."

Glynda glanced at the clock. The room was tense. It was strange. For a guy with two small knives facing a reach weapon, Casper seemed _very _collected.

Hell, it started making Regalia anxious.

"Begin."

Regalia did the obvious smart thing and went straight for the reach attack. Graceful.

Casper jumped onto the pole, coming out of a swift flip. Then he started to wobble back and forth.

"Dang, that never works," he cursed. "This spear is too thin, just like all the other ones."

Regalia seemed put off by this, seeming confused as to how to proceed with someone like this.

_Oh, wait a minute, _I realized with a shock. _That's his advantage. He's intentionally leveraging her dependence on the study of practiced combat and playing her expectations! How could he have sized her up so easily? _

Casper then stepped off the pole, having lost his balance.

"Well, three seconds on the spear. That's a new record," he congratulated himself. "Maybe I can go for _whoa hey chill._"

Casper had jumped back onto the spear as Regalia jabbed again.

_Or maybe he's _actually _a jokester, _I slammed my head onto the desk and started begging silently. _Please, Regalia, don't lose to this clown. I was hoping you'd show him mercy, but please, _please _do not embarrass the team this way. _

"Can you take this seriously!?" Regalia roared, and swept the spear around and up towards the ceiling. Casper fell from it, towards Regalia's waiting fist.

That was when I noticed something.

_Where did the knife in his right hand go? _

Regalia noticed too late.

He caught her forearm in his hand, and swung around her body like a monkey.

And on his way past the ground, he picked up his knife.

Soon, he had her in a lock, with his knife at her neck.

The whole classroom was silent.

_REGALIA, WHY!? _I slammed my head into the desk again, creating a small replica of the crater in the other wing of the building that I had created.

"J-Jack, are you crying?" Sasha cautiously asked.

"I'M NOT CRYING! I'M NOT," I sobbed hysterically. "THIS IS SWEAT FROM MY EYES. AND ALSO BLOOD. I'M PRETTY SURE SEEING REGALIA LOSE TO THIS CLOWN HAS MADE MY EYES BLEED."

"Oh, convenient! The clock's over there!" Casper peered over Regalia's shoulder. "I think we still have four minutes."

Qrow tried to stifle both his laughter and his brimming disappointment that no one named Casper Lovewright got beaten to a pulp.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Lovewright?" Glynda pointed at Regalia. "The match isn't over."

"You..._want _me to kill her? Like, actually? Isn't that just implied?" Casper looked confused.

"Well, obviously, you're not allowed to. But her aura level is still at 100%," Glynda explained. "Which means she is completely allowed to do this."

Regalia took her elbow free and slammed it into Casper's stomach. He coughed and staggered away, then ducked away from the spear jab. He backflipped onto the edge of the floor.

"I don't like the cut of your jib," Casper stood up to his full height. All five foot six of him. "I won the way that ensured I would live to tell about it. I think that's what matters. You can't rely on your opponent's mercy. But if you insist..."

He took a different stance with his knives. It looked slightly more aggro than his flailing on a spear.

"...I can show you not to rely on your opponent's mercy _your _way, too."

I didn't like the way he said that. I'd thought he was a little more chill, but it looked like someone had touched a nerve.

Regalia raised her spear, but Casper had already stepped into her guard.

"Coming through," he lifted his left knife arm for a down-and-in kind of stab to the chest area.

Recovering quickly, Regalia blocked his attack with the bracers on her arm. From what I saw, there wasn't a tremendous amount of power to the attack.

But he wasn't slow.

Casper dropped the knife, twisted his body as he jumped, and swiped another knife at Regalia's head. She stepped back, trying to create distance. But in a display of coordination, Casper grabbed the knife with his other arm as he lashed out with his foot.

_Wham. _

Regalia staggered away. She'd created distance, but at a cost. Casper landed, and pushed off from the ground, lunging aggressively.

Regalia gritted her teeth, and retracted the spear into a more short-distance blade. A longsword. Clearly, the reach advantage wasn't working, so why keep it when it was a liability?

She blocked the dual strike by Casper, and began to push back. She'd figured out that he wasn't as physically strong as her, so if she could continue to force him into contests of brute strength, she could unbalance him and win.

Casper decided to disengage, and more or less cartwheeled away from her retaliatory slash. When he landed, he seemed to give pause for just a second.

Qrow's attention was solely on Casper. The raven-haired man seemed to be puzzling something through, but I couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

Suddenly, Casper started chuckling. Regalia tensed.

"What is it this time?" she growled.

"Come and find out," Casper beckoned.

Never one to back down from a challenge, my teammate charged. She prepared to swing, and followed through straight down.

But in the instant before the blade touched Casper, he'd snuck his knife into the blade's path in such a way that he'd balanced the strike on the edge of his knife.

No, not horizontally. Perpendicularly, that is.

He'd balanced it _parallel_.

_Oum help me. _A chill ran down my spine. _That can't be real. _

It was at that moment that Qrow jumped, startled, then left the room, as if for an urgent reason.

Regalia could only watch as her opponent chucked the pommel of his other knife into her face. As it smacked her, she stumbled.

That was all the time the Vacuo vagabond needed. As Regalia's sword lifted for an instant, he strafed to the side, and planted his held knife directly into her cape, nailing it to the ground. Watching her struggle, he circled around. She swung her sword wildly at him, unbalanced mentally and physically, but he dodged and kicked it out of her hand in a swift instant.

It clattered to the other side of the room and lay still.

Glynda watched him intently as the classroom lay in silence, save for Regalia's breathing.

"Professor, I don't bear you any ill will," Casper said as he gazed at Regalia. "I guess I'm just tired. I don't communicate well when I'm like that."

Casper whacked the back of Regalia's neck with his other knife pommel, and she seemed to cry out in surprise before her voice trailed away into unconsciousness.

"But even if I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that match _wasn't _to discredit me..." Casper looked up into Glynda's eyes. "Make no mistake - I still can't forgive the notion that death waits for the rules."

The class sucked in its breath, myself included. But Glynda sighed.

"You've earned this class an extra two minutes of freedom," she noted. "Don't waste that precious time lecturing me."

I knew Glynda. If anyone else had made that snarky remark, she might have had more cutting words.

The fact that she didn't retaliate with vitriol of any kind meant that she must have realized that he truly meant every word of what he said about death.

The class filed out of the room. Casper waited a few moments, then exited the room straight from the arena floor.

Where had Qrow gone?

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Headmaster's Office_

Listening at the door did not prove easy, even with fox ears and sharpened senses.

"Oz, I'm telling you, this is _her._" Qrow's abrasive, insistent voice was near a shout. "His name is Lovewright. He came from Vacuo. And I can't forget that trick. How many students did _you _know that could balance their opponent's blade parallel to their own without any fear or hesitation?"

"It can't be ignored," Ozpin's calm voice responded. "But it's strange. She couldn't have borne children, and even if she did, this boy...Casper...is too old to have been her biological child. He must have come from somewhere else, and they crossed paths when he was very young. She went missing...approximately eleven years ago, was it?"

"I did some personal digging, Oz, but there isn't much on Casper in Vacuo's records," Qrow said. "He must have been from one of the more...improvised townships. All Vacuo has on him is a birth date and a name, and a general region. The name of the birthplace is unknown."

"It may be worth looking into," Ozpin mused. "Can you make it there?"

"Only if you're sure you won't need my help to investigate the burglary that hit the Schnee plant, or prevent future activity," Qrow offered. "I heard Jack saw something strange beforehand. It might not be some ordinary burglar."

"Go, if you must," Ozpin reassured him. "This may be important, too. Report to me as soon as you arrive, or if something happens along the way."

I withdrew from the door and distanced myself before Qrow could spot me.

_Casper's starting to appear different than I initially thought..._I thought. _I wonder if he'll tell me anything. _


	4. THE ILLUSION DISPELLED

**CHAPTER THREE - THE ILLUSION DISPELLED**

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_CYAN's Dorm - Exterior_

Outside of the CYAN dormitory, three of the vagabonds were doing their stupid snakelike hiss-giggle.

"And just _what_ is it about _this _time?" Regalia's commanding voice did little to betray her wounded pride. Commendable. The three vagabonds turned around.

"Oh, hey guys." The one whose pants I literally beat off motioned to his compatriots. "Look who showed up. Larry, Moe, Curly, and the only person on your team I respect."

"I hope for your sakes that you have not labeled _me _one of the stooges," I threatened.

"I'd never do that to _you,_" the boxer-cretin brown-nosed. One of the other two slid out from behind him.

The boxer-cretin himself was admittedly not unattractive. He had a sly face, light red hair swept to one side, and brown eyes. He was baring his midriff, as his black top only covered his chest area. He also wore sleeved fabric of the same color that came over a ring on his middle fingers. He wore linen trousers of black, too.

"Just so we're clear, you would, and you _did._ You were just hoping that they wouldn't realize that '_respect' _was a stand-in for 'have a crush on' in reference to Pauline over there," the honest one hissed at his suck-up teammate.

The honest one had shorter, sandy hair and green eyes. He was freckled slightly, and wore glasses. He seemed to be courteously wearing our uniform, too.

I stopped looking at him long enough to register his whispering. My thyroid bulged reflexively.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AND HANG YOU UP BY YOUR ENTRAILS!" I shouted in tandem with the boxer-cretin, though I was shouting at _him _as he shouted at his teammate.

"Jinx," the boxer-cretin pointed at me.

"I don't owe you _anything, _you lustful weakling. You lost to me in unfair combat!" I roared at him. "Where is the only person on your team _I _respect?"

"Oooh, he has a crush on _Casper,_" the honest one giggled.

"We have _completely _different meanings for _respect. _What kind of regional dialect do you speak in your part of Vacuo?" I argued.

"We speak the noble tongue of Bofa," the boxer-cretin proudly proclaimed.

I held my tongue, but Sasha was not warned. And they must have known.

"What's Bofa?" she asked, confused. My eyes widened in shock as the boxer-cretin prepared the final strike, his grin widening before my eyes as each word escaped Sasha's lips.

"Sasha, _no!" _I cried out, but it was too late.

"**BOFA DESE NUTS !**" With each word, the boxer-cretin smacked both hands around his crotch.

Sasha, in shock, collapsed to her knees. Tears welled in her eyes as the Vacuo vagabonds high-fived, letting out their signature snakelike hissing laugh.

_Sss-sss-sss! Sss-sss-sss..._

I shook my head.

"Another victim of the epidemic," I lamented. Regalia stepped forward.

"Out. Of. Our. Way." Regalia warned, reaching for her weapon. "This tomfoolery is _far _enough without you attacking our teammates with vile jokes like these."

I looked into her eyes. She already felt clowned by Casper's display earlier. And worse, his teammates, _these _buffoons, had been there. Her pride was wounded.

"I'm afraid I'm not going to move," the boxer-cretin informed her. "If you wish to bed Casper, rest assured we already did it."

Regalia blushed profusely. Sasha was still in shock from the devastating blow dealt earlier. Pauline had a nosebleed.

The honest CYAN member tapped the boxer-cretin on the shoulder and raised his eyebrows, then shook his head. The boxer-cretin seemed to understand.

"Oh, my apologies. The noble tongue of Bofa is fallible sometimes, it seems," he explained. "I was referring to us putting him in his bed and letting him sleep."

"You're all such vulgar savages." Regalia turned away in disgust. "To think they thought you were disciplined enough to compete."

"Ha ha!" The boxer-cretin laughed. "Racist."

Suddenly, I noticed the honest one shake his head and make an "X" sign with his hands. The boxer-cretin realized his mistake and covered his mouth.

"Oh, whoops," he said. "Forget I said that."

Regalia stopped in her tracks.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Pauline asked. "Are you...Faunus?"

"_CHEESE IT_!" the three shouted in the distance. I hadn't realized they'd even left. I _also_ realized I hadn't even really gotten a good look at their silent member in the back.

By the same coin, that wasn't exactly urgent, because they were guaranteed to be a gigantic recurring pain in the ass.

"Damn, those kids are fast." Pauline looked around to ensure they were really gone. "I...I guess they're out of the way now?"

Regalia seemed to be staring after them suspiciously.

"Maybe not," she mused. "Why do you think they were trying to hide their Faunus heritage?"

"Maybe they're just not ready to trust humanity yet." Pauline shrugged. "It's a common sentiment."

"But that one just pulled the race card on me as a joke," Regalia answered. "They clearly aren't taking the conflict part of it seriously. It seems to me like they're hiding something else _related _to them being Faunus."

I pulled Sasha off the ground and dusted her off. "Wait, do you think they're part of the White Fang?"

"It could be," Pauline admitted. "And if they're hiding it, they're not the peaceful part of that bunch. Jack, you should go talk to Casper. We'll...pursue them."

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_CYAN's Dorm - Interior_

I sat across from Casper, who was stretching on the lower bunk of the other bed. He only wore a black tank top now and pajama pants of the same color. His knives rested on the nightstand.

"Hhhhhhhhhiiiii," he yawned. "Something the matter?"

"I think my teammates don't like your teammates, and that was before we figured out that your teammates might be Faunus from the 'kill-humans' branch of the White Fang," I admitted. "The boxer-cretin teammate of yours dealt a critical blow to my teammate by referencing your native tongue, too."

Casper groaned. "Not this 'Bofa' nonsense again. The language doesn't even have that word in it. So, really? You think they're White Fang agents?"

"It's possible. Regalia accidentally called them a slur for Faunus, meaning nothing by it, and got the race card pulled on her as a mean-spirited joke," I told him.

"Well, even if it's true, I don't think you have anything to fear from them, and the law enforcement is better off budgeting elsewhere anyway," Casper shrugged. "They suck. They'll never hurt anyone even if they try. _Especially _if they try."

"I'll take your word for it," I chuckled. "I thought you'd want to at least get a heads-up, but I'm not here about them. I had some questions after eavesdropping on Qrow."

"Oh, was that the guy who left during my fight with your hot-blooded disciplinarian teammate?" Casper asked.

"Quite. But he left at a very specific point. Which leads me to my question." I stood up. "How in the name of Oum did you catch a blade's edge on a blade's edge with that much confidence?"

"Beginner's luck," Casper answered jokingly. "Trade secret. Nunaya."

"What's-oh, ha ha, not this time," I pointed at him accusingly. "A slightly classier version...but not for one such as I."

"Well, half-credit to me," he flopped onto his lower bunk. "But as any one of your teammates could tell me, you are a skilled practitioner, it seems, of pulling out before the point of no return."

"Did you just..." I stared at him. "See, this is why I like you. But I have more questions."

"Shoot," he said, staring up at the bunk above him. "I'm free for the rest of the day."

"I didn't hear the beginning of Qrow's conversation with Ozpin. But he mentioned...a Huntress who went missing more than a decade ago," I told him. "I guess she was a graduate of Beacon, but they think you had something to do with her, or she had something to do with you, in this case. Qrow said that she was known for doing what you just did to Regalia."

"Is that so?" Casper tapped his index finger on his chin. "I was kinda from Nowheresville. I don't know if they've got the right Huntress. Someone as important as that doesn't seem like the kind of person to come to my hometown. Did you hear her name?"

"Not the first one, but they think the surname matches yours," I informed him. "'Lovewright.'"

Casper closed his eyes.

"Well, when they find out about her, I'm sure they'll ask me questions," he yawned. "Then I'll find out what they're looking for."

I stood up. "Should I leave? You seem tired."

"If you don't mind, just shut the door on the way out," Casper instructed sleepily.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_JSPR's Dorm - Interior_

"Did you talk to Casper?" Sasha asked after reconvening with me, holding a cup of coffee. I shook my head.

"I don't know why he's creating such a stir in the faculty," I mused. "I guess they think he's a lead in a case they dropped eleven years ago."

"Eleven years? Here, in Vale? I thought he was from Vacuo," Sasha asked, confused.

"That's what makes this so strange. According to the eavesdropping I did on Qrow, eleven years ago, a graduate of Beacon - a woman whose surname was Lovewright - was sent to Vacuo, but soon went missing," I explained. "What's more, he's definitely not young enough to be her child, and she couldn't bear children. I guess they were willing to forgive it as a coincidence in naming, until Qrow saw Casper fight Regalia."

"What tipped him off?" Sasha took a sip from her coffee.

"What surprised you the most in that fight?" I prompted. "And don't say 'Regalia lost to Casper.' I'm still coming to terms with that one myself."

"He trapped her slash on the edge of his blade," Sasha answered. "I couldn't believe my eyes."

"Apparently, Qrow couldn't either. That's why he told Ozpin," I explained. "That move was more or less a calling card of this mysterious Ms. Lovewright. When Ozpin heard about that, he let Qrow go to Vacuo, even in the midst of the Schnee theft."

"So maybe the graduate of Beacon adopted Casper after she went missing," Sasha postulated. "But why is that so important to Ozpin?"

"She must be really skilled, or maybe she means a lot to the faculty." I shrugged. "Either way...Qrow will figure it out. He's good at investigation."

"I'm a bit worried, though," Sasha mentioned. "We have one less capable investigator at Vale's disposal, and the last incident has everyone baffled as it is...wait! That reminds me!"

Sasha blurted out the last part, looking excited. I took the instant of inattentiveness to take her cup of coffee away, suspecting it was a contributing factor in the outburst.

"What...did you remember?"

"It's ransom value, Jack!" Sasha shouted ecstatically. I motioned for her to keep her out-of-context yelling to a minimum, given the incriminating nature of the sentence.

"Sorry," she whispered, embarrassed. "Apparently, the stolen goods are intellectual property. So there's good news, and there's bad news, both having to do with the plunder being information. The good news is that, well, it's ransom value. If the ransom isn't paid, I'm guessing, the information will be leaked and used accordingly in experimental refining procedures for anyone interested. This means the perpetrator will have to make contact of some kind with the Schnee Corporation to collect value. The bad news...is that no one can really plan to set up a trap because the list of suspects might as well include the neighbor's _dogs_, and that means that proxy communicators are on the table for the possessor of the stolen information."

"The authorities have found out surprisingly little," I marveled. "Did my information help at all?"

"I hate to say it, but it hasn't seemed to produce any suspects on its own." Sasha shook her head. "Whomever you saw, it doesn't appear that any documented Huntsman or Huntresses match that ability description. But maybe we can help close the case."

"How so?" I asked.

Sasha looked guilty. I sighed through my nose.

"Sasha, if I asked you what the source of your information is, it would be a private source that you were monitoring through some kind of digital backdoor, wouldn't it?" I took the opportunity to accuse her indirectly.

"You can't prove that one way or the other. So there!" She blew me a raspberry. "Hypothetically speaking, though, if it was, you wouldn't be mad, right?"

"I'd be concerned for your safety." I looked her in the eyes. "Depending on who catches you, you'd be looking at a _lot _of years behind bars. Think _easy _double digits."

"Well, come on, don't you want to hear how we can help?" Sasha pleaded. "Please! Please? I haven't had any luck with those last three letters of Casper's team and I need an investigative win, OK?"

"All right, Sasha," I relented. "What are you thinking of?"

* * *

**Vale**

**The Docks**

_Rendezvous Point_

"We're so dead if we get caught, Sasha," I hissed at my teammate from the roof of one of the warehouses. "I don't think the criminals, nor the corporate assassins will appreciate our interference."

"Shh!" Sasha hushed me. "Look, someone's coming!"

We'd been watching the Schnee camp for the last half hour. Better early than late, in this case. But I supposed the criminals were at least on time.

"Wait, no way. Is that..." I squinted. "Oh, Hell no, not _this _guy. I _hate _this guy."

"Wh-Why do you know him?" Sasha looked at me suspiciously.

"He shot my glass! And then he made a joke about a 'shot glass!' Before _I _could do it!" I hissed under my breath. "I could deal with the martini splashing in my face, but _stealing a pun from me _crosses the _line._"

Ah, the flame-haired Roman Torchwick. He owed me a martini. Still needed to collect on that. Oh, and Neo was there too, in all her heterochromatic, ice cream glory. She owed me a martini too. Because she held a label sign up behind him while he made his damn joke.

I hated them. So. Much.

"Well, hold on," Sasha put her hand across my back. "We only need to intervene if it looks like the Schnee Corporation can't get the perpetrators."

"...don't encourage me to root against them." I muttered.

My ears flicked. I could hear their conversation from this distance. Didn't appear they'd seen me yet.

"Look, just pay the ransom, and the sooner you do, the sooner we can both kiss that freak goodbye," Roman negotiated. "We don't like it any more than you do. Honestly, there are more important clients, but none quite this...immediate."

"You're just a proxy?" The Huntsman speaking for the Schnee Corporation sighed incredulously. "Come on, really? The terms were that he could come in disguise, or whatever, but he at least had to show up, and I don't see him."

"That's the problem," Roman growled. "No one does."

"Well, how do we know if he's here, then?" The Huntsman started to raise his voice. "This was a waste of time. Let's get out of-"

Suddenly, my ears rang. Sasha's scream echoed throughout the docks. I turned to the left to ensure her safety, and my heart stopped cold for a brief instant.

There was a hand sticking out of Sasha's chest, right where her heart should be. She didn't appear wounded, but that was _messed up. _She stared down at the hand, hyperventilating, and in a cold sweat.

I followed the hand with my gaze.

The figure currently causing Sasha to flip out, and pray to her apparently apathetic God, was dressed all in dark gray. He was wearing reinforced tights, and had a helmet on to hide his face. As for distinguishing features, could only see distinctive dark goggle-like eyepieces that the figure could look through.

He turned his head towards me, staring directly at me. I realized my hand was shaking from the sudden shock.

And then he vanished, his body seeming to fade away like some cosmic force had turned down his opacity.

I hugged Sasha's shivering body, glancing wildly around. I tried to calm her down, but it wasn't working very much.

"Come on, it's okay. You're okay," I said, almost chanting. Then I remembered where I was.

All eyes were on us from below.

"So, you believe he's here now? Or do you want to answer the freak to his face?" Roman shouted angrily at the negotiators. "Hurry up! Clock's ticking, and that scream wasn't quiet either!"

The Huntsman negotiating for the Schnees looked extremely conflicted. Fearful. His men scanned the perimeter and the rooftops as he weighed his options.

Then he lifted his hand in a "stop" gesture. His men awaited further orders.

"This place is compromised," the Huntsman explained. "And if we walk away now, that..._whatever _that is could release sensitive information. Fine, Torchwick. Take your payment."

Torchwick and Neo walked forward to meet the Schnee negotiator in the center. They exchanged devices, then walked away from each other. Neo seemed to be looking around suspiciously, ensuring her boss would be safe.

I lifted Sasha into my arms. She wasn't taking her near-death experience well. And I couldn't blame her. It didn't sit well with me that her life might have just been extinguished and I might have never even seen it happen.

I was about to jump down from the roof, but suddenly found the warehouse surrounded by...

"Oh, damn it, right. I said it myself. Corporate assassins," I cursed my luck as more and more laser sights trained themselves on us. "Well...easy double-digit years in prison, here we come."


	5. OUT OF THE WAY

**CHAPTER FOUR - OUT OF THE WAY**

* * *

**Vale**

**?**

_Interrogation Room_

"We _were _on your side!" I shouted at the interrogator, who was a female officer wearing a gas mask and camouflage tights - unusual for Atlas personnel, admittedly.

But I doubted that people in her department were going to make her play dress-up for their glorified empire. Especially not when her opener in introducing herself to me was about her knowing more torture techniques than there were species of Faunus.

As sure as the concrete in my cell was grey, I was not going to correct her on the racial undertones of her sentence, which should tell you how scared I was of her.

"See, part of my problem with that is how you nincompoops _knew _how to be on our side," she growled in a gruff voice. She cast a pointed look at Sasha's cell. "And if I asked you where your source of information was, it wouldn't be a digital backdoor to a private source, _would it?" _

"You can't prove it either way! _So there!" _I blew her a raspberry, running on pure bravado. "Hypothetically speaking, if it was, you wouldn't be mad, right?"

"I'm a professional, and you're here for a nonviolent offense, so I've forgone the usual torture methods," the officer seethed. "But if I may ask you something less subtle, _who do you think is going to be able to find your body to prosecute me?" _

"No one, I hope, given that they'd have to talk to _you _first," I blurted out, then immediately regretted it.

"And that question is now _who do I think is going to _want _to find your body._" My persecutor narrowed her eyes threateningly. "And if you're this obnoxious to whomever you call 'friends,' I'm leaning 'no one.' And with _that _out of the way, spread 'em."

Me and my big mouth.

* * *

**Vale**

**?**

_Jack's Cell_

If I was offered the choice between the beating of a lifetime from Glynda, or another "session" with that officer, it would be a hard pass on the officer.

I felt like I needed an adult. I felt like I needed _several _adults. I wished I'd never gotten dragged to that rooftop stakeout by...

I gasped. Sasha! She couldn't be handling this well. Even without the _hand-through-her-chest _incident, this situation looked extremely bleak, and was only getting worse.

My sharp fox ears picked up on sniffling, broken sobs from the next cell over. Sasha's confinement.

I looked up and down the hallway to ensure there wasn't a patrol nearby who could hear me.

"Sasha. Listen to me," I whispered. The sobbing stopped for a brief instant.

"Jack..." I could hear her voice shaking, like the rest of her. "This is...all my fault."

"We're the only ones who have seen the burglar up close and personal," I started to reassure her. "They need that information."

"Jack, they don't have to let us go," Sasha answered despairingly. "The interrogator told you herself, Jack. It's not going to be easy for anyone to find the body."

"Sasha, it's either that or we die here," I retorted. "And I still haven't gotten around to settling that grudge I have against Winter Schnee."

"What happened there?" Sasha asked.

"A small kerfuffle with the Atlas military that I believe has been classified and codenamed 'The Break Room Incident.'" I sighed, remembering simpler times. "I guess it doesn't matter if you know about classified information, though, because that's why we're stuck here anyway."

"Tell me," Sasha urged. "Was it really that bad?"

"Well, see, first Winter walks in and says..." I stopped because I knew what was good for me.

"What? No, Jack, come on, what did she say?" Sasha giggled.

"No, don't mind me, Jack. By all means, finish telling this poor girl what I said," barked a familiar commanding voice that would have made Regalia's jealous. "Go on."

Ah, the familiar Schnee hair. The familiar Schnee scowl. The familiar Schnee color scheme. The familiar Schnee flimsy-looking sword thing.

And, most regrettably, the familiar Schnee attitude. However, even my reckless idiocy had a limit, and her having power over my fate was showing me that.

Sasha, like me, had grown dead silent. Winter continued speaking.

"Good to see you've realized how dire this situation is," she commended mockingly. "As much trouble as the Mirage is...he seems to have taught our dear fox some tact, so maybe he's not _all_ bad. But I digress."

"'Mirage?' That's the operative name for him?" I asked. Winter nodded.

"I suppose your information helped somewhat after all," she conceded. "You incidentally made him a codename when the boys in the information systems department went on lunch break and started gossipping about what your description reminded them of."

"But...why are you here?" I asked. "I thought after that incident, you said..."

"...that I never wanted to see your miserable face ever again, and if you came back I'd have you thrown off the bridge of my personal ship, yes, I know," Winter interrupted. "But circumstances are such that I cannot leave you to rot in this cell while that menace roams the streets."

"That Mirage is indeed a public menace," I agreed. "Has he made the front page yet?"

"He will _this _time." Winter clenched her fists. "But as you can imagine, it's hard to get an image to put on the cover page because he's _practically invisible._"

"Wait, so what's the story? I thought the negotiations were supposed to be secret," I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"They were. And your arrest was supposed to be secret, too. However, someone called the police when they saw you getting dragged away by corporate assassins from their window, which they were looking out of once they heard screaming," Winter elaborated. "This girl has quite the pair of lungs on her."

My left ear throbbed. "Oh, trust me, I know. I'm also glad she still has them after our encounter with the Mirage."

_Thank you, Sasha. Your lifetime supply of PTSD will not go to waste! _I rejoiced in my head.

"The catch here is that the story that made the front page was more about your arrest." Winter sighed. "The Mirage was more of a...speculation that the author linked _slightly _to the situation at hand as a possibility. And not by name."

"Damn you, Jameson!" I slammed my fist against the concrete floor. "Would it kill you to quality check your news!?"

"Jack, I'm not here on behalf of the Schnee Dust Corporation, but this mystery Huntsman doubly serves as a financial drain on the Schnee Corporation and a very black mark on Atlas' reputation," Winter explained. "The last time I saw General Ironwood this furious was your little stunt in the Break Room."

"I'm _not _apologizing for that," I stoutly refused. "Every great artist is ahead of his time."

"Seriously, what _happened?" _Sasha demanded.

"So you want me to catch him?" I stared at Winter. "And just what do I owe _you?" _

"We just brought up the Break Room Incident and you have the illusion that you're still blameless?" Winter shook her head. "You are exceedingly lucky there is a set of bars between you and me right now."

"Winter, Atlas and I disagree on everything, not the least of which is proper decor in a Break Room," I argued sourly. "If I catch him, it will _not _be for Atlas."

"Maybe not, but in this case, everyone wins," Winter reasoned. "Just...Jack, put your stubborn pride at the wayside for a second and _work_ with me so I can get you out of this cell."

"We'll do it!" Sasha cried. "We'll work with Atlas."

"I'm not telling you about the Incident," Winter snapped.

"...we'll still do it," Sasha sulked. "But I'm only slightly more disappointed now."

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_JSPR's Dorm - Interior_

Regalia hugged Sasha like she'd been away for years.

"Did they hurt you? Oh, Sasha, if they laid a finger on you, I'm going to..." Regalia started to swear herself to an unwise course of action.

Pauline approached me. "Jack...got a minute?"

I took Pauline aside. She swallowed nervously.

"So..." She shifted uncertainly. "Winter's still cold...huh..."

"Always," I sighed. "But what did you want?"

"It's looking more and more possible that CYAN...or rather, YAN...are working for the White Fang. Honestly, I don't know if their leader's in on it or not. He's _always _sleeping," Pauline explained. "Like, when you were out of class yesterday, he asked where you were, then went right back to sleep when we told him we didn't know yet. I don't know what to make of him."

"Aw, Casper asked about me! He wants me to be his friend!" I crossed my arms proudly. "Well, he'll be ecstatic to know that I'm back in class."

"Jack, is Sasha okay?" Pauline blurted out. "I mean, I know she's unharmed, but..."

Sasha was clinging tightly, balled up in Regalia's arms. Regalia whispered assurance to her protectively.

"I can't imagine how it must feel," Pauline shivered. "I _can_ imagine it looked unsettling, but she must have been absolutely terrified. If she..."

Pauline was beginning to grow emotional thinking about the possibility.

"It didn't happen," I reassured her. "And I'm going to make sure it _never _happens. Okay?"

"...okay." Pauline acknowledged shakily. "Thank you."

Even to me, my promise seemed hollow. There were no guarantees. The only way I could ensure my teammates didn't get hurt would be to keep them as far away from the Mirage as possible.

I kind of hoped my friends would continue to pursue Casper's teammates. That way I could pursue _my_ mystery at hand without endangering the ones I loved.

In the meantime, I decided to go check in with the faculty about my absence.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_CYAN's Dorm - Exterior_

Unfortunately, to get out of the building, it was easier to pass by CYAN's dorm. I was hoping that they might not be there at the moment.

Hiss-giggling echoed around the corner as I approached their hallway.

_But then again, who else would that be? _I cursed the heavens. _Let's just get this out of the way._

I rounded the corner, and immediately got a round of applause.

_Damn it, it's going to be one of _those _interactions. _

"Look who the _fox _dragged in. It's his _own sorry ass,_" my arch-nemesis, the boxer-cretin drawled. "But _what does the fox say?"_

"Well, as long as you're here, I thought you'd like to know that Adam Taurus says hi," I answered.

"Oh, cool. We say hi back," the boxer-cretin said with his gullible, gullible mouth. The honest one proceeded to smack him in the back of the head.

He realized his mistake.

"_GOD DAMN IT." _He reached for his sword. "Well, guess I should have seen that one coming. Why was that our secret password?"

"You could have listened to Ms. Belladonna's suggestion, you know," the honest one answered passive-aggressively. "You know, if Yan said hers was a good idea, that should have been your first hint. It was actually vague enough to be secret, but _you're the boss_."

"Look, Allen, it's either _you _or _him,_" the boxer-cretin threatened. "And it's still him, but don't make me turn that dial the other way."

He started to unsheathe his blade with the sound of scraping metal.

"Good Lord, get your heads out of your asses," I snapped. "I'm not even here to expose you to the authorities. It's actually the opposite."

"Adam says you can't join us, on account of the fact that you can't be trusted to decorate a Break Room," the boxer-cretin retorted. "He appreciates the gesture nonetheless, but would rather you stay out of delicate matters like these."

"How did you jokesters even find _out _about that? Atlas' so-called 'state-of-the-art security' is proving surprisingly vulnerable lately." I rolled my eyes. "That aside, I need you to do _exactly _what you've _been _doing. Do not turn yourselves in. Continue whatever mission your deranged boss has assigned you. I am not the one you need to fear. My teammates are trying to catch you in the act. And I'll admit, I'm rather amused by your game of cat-and-mouse. So go wild. And don't get caught. Capiche?"

The non-Casper members of CYAN were silent for a brief instant.

Then the third one, who'd had yet to speak a word since he'd got on campus, stepped forward.

"You have good intentions," he quietly admitted, looking me in the eyes. "But you are a terrible liar."

I stiffened instinctively. The boxer-cretin looked astonished that the silent one was speaking.

The silent one, last to meet my eyes, was shorter, but stocky. He had dark, wavy brunette hair and tan skin. He wore his silver-colored knuckle weapons on his hands, which seemed to have slots for Dust cartridges.

"Yan," he started, but stopped when the stoic Yan raised his hand to signal that he should wait.

"I know about the Mirage, Jack," Yan continued. "If I were to think the Schnee Corporation, damn them, are the only ones who have to worry about him, then I would be delusional. It is my understanding that he saw your face and threatened you with one of your loved ones. You were right there, and still there was nothing you could do to prevent it. Do you think, then, that I do not see what you are doing? This whole situation is far from amusing to you. You're sending your teammates after us, on a wild goose chase, because you don't want to risk them being visited by the Mirage. You aren't amused. You are _afraid_."

"I could always turn you in, you know," I threatened coldly.

"And with us out of the way, they'll have no distraction from the threat of the Mirage," Yan countered. "They'll come to help you. They'll follow you blindly. And when you lead them off that cliff, their realization of how deep that chasm really was will come too late to save them."

Allen, the honest one, put his hand on Yan's shoulder, and shook his head. Yan breathed deeply.

"I am the leader of this small three-person agency of the White Fang," he answered. "So I will allow myself and my teammates to play along with this so-called game of 'cat-and-mouse.' But if I may warn you..."

A tail flicked out behind him. Allen and the boxer-cretin's followed suit. It appeared they were some sort of big-cat hybrid Faunus after all.

"All three of us are cats," Yan explained, smiling coldly. "You would do well to give your three mice the heads-up."

He turned away, and beckoned his teammates into their dorm. As they filed in, none of them looked back at me.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Jack," Yan's icy voice mocked over his shoulder.

_Slam. _

Silence.

Then snakelike hissing laughter muffled by their door. I rolled my eyes.

_Well, they really ruined the mood they set themselves, _I lamented. _To think I was actually going to take their idiocy seriously. But that Yan...if I had to guess...he and Casper are going to doubles if the other two don't bring them down in the team fights. End of story. _

I continued to walk out of the dorms, but a little uneasier now.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Headmaster's Office - Exterior_

It had gotten to the point where I eavesdropped so often at this door that I'd begun writing a small eavesdropping ditty to hum to myself while the administrators and faculty spoke.

But in this case, the eavesdropping was on a remote call with...

"Oz, I think I know where he's from," Qrow's voice was marred with digital artifacting. "And it wasn't easy to figure out. I spent hours asking the locals about the general region of Vacuo specified in Casper's birth records, and the only reason I found the village was because one of the people I asked happened to live there for a little while."

"What did you find out?" Glynda asked. I jumped instinctively in response to her voice, then jumped again because she hadn't spoken before.

"The village...its name is 'Star of the Desert,'" Qrow answered. "This person left after we sent Ms. Lovewright to Vacuo, at a time after she should have arrived. According to the source, however, he left due to rising violence...a string of murders in that village that proved pretty shocking."

"And you're sure this is where the boy is from?" Ozpin wondered.

"The evidence is mounting, and I have an idea about how this kid may have met our missing Huntress," Qrow sighed. "Oz, it's not looking to be a lovely magical tale for Casper."

The room was silent. Then Qrow spoke again.

"But Oz...that Star of the Desert village. Before I left, the guy who told me about the murders he heard about pulled me aside to warn me," the investigator seemed to lower his voice slightly. "He told me he left long ago, and for good reason. Even if the crime rate fell after that string of murders...strange things happen and are seen there."

"Strange things? Like what?" Glynda asked.

"The village Casper is from is reportedly very superstitious, so take this with a grain of salt," Qrow's signal started to become more static-ridden. "But he's heard unsettling rumors in recent years about footprints in the desert that both start and end in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sand. Some even have seen someone walking over the hills, only to follow behind and discover that the footprints have ended and there's no one in sight. People have stood in those footprints, Oz. The 'end of the road' that someone's created. And they don't find anyone there."

"We're still discovering Grimm to this very day," Glynda wondered. "It's not unlike some Grimm to leave the ground untouched, or vanish from sight. But even if this is some kind of mysterious Grimm, it should still be killing the villagers. It wouldn't just appear nearby and not do anything."

"Again, the townsfolk are superstitious, and they're in a desert. People can see things that aren't there," Qrow explained. "Some even think it's the deceased victims of the crime wave in the town, wandering the empty reaches of the desert for eternity. Personally, I think it's their twisted way of denying that death will take them from their home in the face of a declining population."

"It's enough to send a chill down the spine." Ozpin spoke, then I heard a _clink, _which could have been him setting down his mug. "Even if it's just superstition, the idea of loitering hopelessly forever in a doomed land, watching everyone you love suffer and die...what a horrible feeling. I would be hard-pressed to believe that would be a source of comfort for them."

"Oz..." Qrow's voice grew less discernible amongst the static, slowly cutting out. "I'm on...my way th...ere. Care...ful..."

_Ksshhhhh. _

I heard the familiar tone indicating a dropped signal. Glynda sighed.

"Glynda," Ozpin reassured her. "He will be fine."

"I know he can handle any Grimm that show up, and he's not a joke in serious combat with Huntsman and criminals," she lowered her voice. "But I'm worried because it might not be _either _of those things."

My finger slipped on the door and squeaked...a _bit _unnecessarily loud.

"Who's there?" Glynda barked. "If this is another one of you self-proclaimed 'ring-and-runners...'"

That was the last I heard before I slipped away down the hall.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_CYAN's Dorm - Exterior_

I passed CYAN's door on the way back to talk to the rest of my team. The snakelike hiss-giggling of those obnoxious turds had disappeared. In fact, the room seemed silent. Perhaps I'd caught a break, and they weren't there.

I reached up to knock on the door, anxious to talk to Casper. But before I let my knuckles tap the oak door, I heard light snoring.

I hesitated, and pulled my hand back. I didn't want to get on his nerves too much. Then again, I supposed we could talk in class the next day.

It seemed he really had a lot of bleak prospects. His almost nameless village was slowly being abandoned and its remaining people left to extinction. The Star of the Desert that he called home was dimming, if anyone could see it out in the empty wasteland anyway.

It started to make more sense why he got angry with Glynda for seemingly making light of death when he fought Regalia.

Finally, I opened the door to my team's dorm room. Upon noticing my arrival, they flocked around me, each eager to tell me about their investigation on Casper's team. I listened with one ear open, but even as I heard their stories, I was still wondering how the enigmatic Vacuo transfer had come under scrutiny by Ozpin because of a missing Huntress.

**Intermission**


	6. INFILTRATION

**CHAPTER FIVE - INFILTRATION**

* * *

**Vale**

**Atlas Diplomatic Embassy**

_Strategic Discussion_

I'd come alone, for all intents and purposes. As Yan had said, I was trying my utmost to ensure my team wouldn't get involved. I was accompanied by a few Atlas guards who were escorting me on the way to the meeting, but fortunately Atlas still trusted me enough to let me meet with Ironwood alone.

"I would have met you in the Break Room, Jack," General Ironwood mentioned as he took a chair across from me. "But the exorcists are still puzzling that whole situation out. Hopefully, a mostly soundproof room will do."

"I told Winter and I'll tell you again," I said for the umpteenth time. "Sorry, _not _sorry. You're lucky I surrendered my weapon to custody at the door here. And if this is about the Mirage, a large-scale effort to capture him is a poor move."

"Jack, I won't pretend we have things under control. You shouldn't either," the General answered calmly. "Because you and your teammate are the closest anyone on our side has gotten to him, and from that confrontation, it hardly seems personal confrontation works any better."

"Right now, people are slightly nervous about an increased Atlas military presence," I argued back. "If you sweep the city or anything drastic, not only will the chaos make it easier for the Mirage to move about, but it will cause domestic panicking. Practically an air raid siren for Grimm."

"I was only going to aggressively investigate the local crime rings and organizations," Ironwood explained. "I have it on good authority from the microphones on the Schnee Dust Corporation's negotiators that Roman Torchwick has had a more...personal experience with the Mirage."

At this point, the ceiling light flickered. My ears flattened. General Ironwood sought to put my mind at ease.

"I wouldn't worry," he assured me. "There is a security detail watching our discussion through that camera."

He was referring to a small globelike device on the ceiling to the right of the door. I wasn't convinced, and I think he could see that. He sighed.

"I suppose it's a worthy precaution," Ironwood sighed. He pulled his communicator/mic out off of his collar and pressed the _talk _button. "Report."

_Ksssshhhhh_

I felt a chill run down my spine. Something wasn't right. Ironwood's eyes narrowed.

"Report!" he said, a little louder. "Do you have visual?"

_Ksssshhhhh_

"General Ironwood!" A panicked voice shouted from the comm in his hand. "Get out of there! We've lost you!"

I bolted for the door, prepared to open, but Ironwood hadn't moved. I turned, and was ready to shout a very cathartic set of commanding words, but quickly discovered that this was most _definitely _not the time.

I froze.

"You can't be serious," I breathed. "How...did you get in here?"

General Ironwood had gotten halfway up from his chair, but no further. There was a look of absolute confused surprise on his face. The comm clattered from his hand to the floor.

A figure, shimmering at the edges, stood behind him, to the left. The figure, male, wore dark grey material with some plated body armor. He wore a simple helmet, with two black, goggle-like eyepieces staring directly at me.

His right hand and forearm came through Ironwood's chest.

I reached for the door without turning away, but the hand through Ironwood's chest made a _stop _gesture. Then he lifted his left hand, and ran his thumb across Ironwood's neck.

I let my hand drop to my sides and turned to face the figure.

"Who the hell are you?" I said, equal parts anger and nerves. "Why are you doing this?"

The Mirage silently withdrew his hand from Ironwood, and completely vanished from sight.

General Ironwood recovered quickly. He grabbed the comm off the floor, and began calling different frequencies, telling them to search the perimeter.

I quickly left the room, heading straight for the weapons custody. The entire building was on high alert, but I didn't care.

They needed all the help they could get.

I slammed my hands on the counter after shoving to the front of the line. The officer in charge of distributions jumped.

"GIMME THE SLASHY STICK!" I shouted. "There's a _public menace _running around in here!"

The attendant pointed blandly to a rack of swords numbering approximately 12 slots.

And _three _of them looked like mine. Black pommel, handle and guard, and a red katana blade.

_Damn it, why are so many people on this continent edgelords?_

You couldn't _swing_ one of those swords in _place _without cutting another edgelord, I swear.

"Which one is it, damn you!?" I roared at the attendant. She seemed to understand.

"General Ironwood told me to handle yours specifically," she said. "Specific storage instructions."

"Well, it's _certainly _not the one with that stupid pink label on it with the phrase 'Princess Handjob,'" I spat. "That leaves two-"

The attendant was chuckling behind her hand.

"Pffft...hehe...that was for the Break Room incident," she snickered. "Have a nice...pfft...day, sir."

"_You people are ungrateful bastards and I'm going to make you regret it," _I slowly closed my fist around the handle of my poor maligned blade.

"Funny, Ironwood called you roughly the same thing before he told me to do that with the sticker," the attendant flippantly called, then turned to her next customer. "See ya!"

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_CYAN's Dorm - Exterior_

Long story short, I did not find the Mirage after procuring my slashy stick again.

"What the devil is that noise?" Allen peered out of his team's hellhole in order to witness the source of the everpresent screaming rage in the hallway.

"_What in the Hell is this godforsaken label _made _of!?_" I roared, continuously slamming the hilt of the blade into my conveniently-placed bucket of acid. "_Get off of my beautiful, edgy sword!" _

"Look, man." The boxer-cretin popped out from inside the room, his head appearing below Allen's. "Casper's trying to sleep. Can you do this somewhere else?"

"_HE'S ALWAYS SLEEPING! HE WON'T MISS A FEW HOURS!" _I retorted, continuing to threaten the load-bearing walls with collapse as I slammed my acid-washed blade pommel into the bucket. "_IN FACT, MAYBE HE SHOULD BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR NATIONAL SECURITY!" _

"What did we do to you?" Allen asked sulkily.

"_EVERYTHING!" _I shouted.

"I mean _besides _that." Allen waved his hand dismissively. "See, we work with these Atlas industrial-grade labels a lot, being part of the White Fang. There's a little trick to getting them off, and if it means you'll go _away, _we can fix your problem."

I stopped destroying the building's foundation for a brief instant. Without looking, I gave them the sword.

"Just don't bring this up ever again," I seethed at Yan, who took my sword. He studied the pommel sticker for a brief instant.

Then he started snickering under his breath.

"YA WANT ME TO HANDLE YOUR SWORD?" Allen looked blue in the face from shouting. "USUALLY THAT'S WHAT _YOU'D_ DO WITH A NAME LIKE _PRINCESS HANDJOB!" _

"_JUST FIX THE STUPID LABEL!" _I shouted equally loudly.

"SORRY, WE CHARGE BY THE HOUR!" The boxer-cretin shouted while screeching in hysterical laughter. "OF COURSE, YOU'D UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE _SO DO YOU!" _

Three large snakes sprouted in place of the respective tails on my back.

"They will _never_ find your body," I threatened. Unfortunately, they were too busy laughing.

And all too appropriately, they sounded more like snakes giggling than my _tails _did.

I bid one of the snakes grab the boxer-cretin by the shirt collar. I lifted him above the ground, and drew nearer.

"Fix. It." I snarled. For a moment, he stared into my eyes, surprised. Fearful.

Then he started giggling, trying to hold it in.

"What?" I grew closer. "What is it you're _hissing _about this time?"

"Nothing," he said really quietly. "Nothing at all."

Visibly, he winked right at Allen. Twice. And contorted his face at the exact same time.

In a flash, another snake snapped up Allen.

"Answer. Me." I threatened again.

The two looked, side-eyed, at each other. Then they lost it all over again. I wasn't getting anywhere.

Yan shrugged. "It's probably that we don't have high enough security clearance to know how to remove those labels."

I almost dropped the other two.

"You _what?_" I asked, dangerously quiet.

"Chicken butt," Yan snickered. "No, but seriously, you heard me."

He took advantage of my moment of quiet realization to turn and walk into his dorm, shutting the door behind him.

"Have fun with that adorable stripper name, Princess Handjob," his voice called. "I'm going to study."

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_CYAN's Dorm - Exterior - Holes in the Ground_

Pauline found me in the hallway, which had certainly seen better days than this one, standing over two pairs of legs sticking out of the ground that seemed to be hissing.

She took in the scene, her initial shock turning to confusion.

Before I could stop her, she picked up my sword off the ground, and studied the label on the pommel.

She giggled a little, then peeled it off at the left-hand corner.

"Gonna keep _that _name in my back pocket," she whispered to herself. When she looked up from the label at me, she only found confusion, and fear.

"_What did you do?" _I asked. "_Did you just unlock your Semblance? What is that unholy power? I've been trying to get that label off for the last _three hours!"

"What do you mean?" Pauline tilted her head, concerned. "What's wrong with it?"

"_I dipped it in THREE STRAIGHT HOURS' WORTH OF ACID AND STEEL," _I explained. "_HOW COULD YOU-" _

"I peeled it off from the top left corner," Pauline showed me the cursed artifact's front face. "It told me to peel from there. Look, there's even tiny letters on that part."

I turned around.

"Where thousands of Grimm...hundreds of Huntsman...and countless weapons have failed to bring me to my knees..." I seethed with rage. "This _sticker _has succeeded. I pray to _every Almighty being _there is that Ironwood does not realize the absurd net value of his two-cent investment."

In the silence that followed, the legs continued to hiss.

"And _you two SHUT UP!" _I roared at them.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_JSPR's Dorm - Interior_

"I know a flex when I see one," I told General Ironwood on the call. "That was the only reason the two of _us _personally saw the Mirage. But did you find out if he came for anything else?"

"It appears that backup schematics of the communication encryptions of our military have been accessed. With the right expertise, they could be disastrously reverse-engineered," General Ironwood warned grimly. "In all likelihood, that could have already happened."

"And what does that mean?" I asked skeptically. "Apparently, a lot of people who _shouldn't _know about the Break Room incident already _know _about it, so the encryptions couldn't have been terribly secure to begin with."

"The clearance for such classified files is a different matter," General Ironwood explained. "The _communication _encryptions are, if you can believe it, far worse for our side to lose to someone with the patterns the Mirage has displayed."

"Explain," I demanded.

"If he cared for classified files, he would have gone for those," General Ironwood pondered. "The fact that he emerged simply to taunt, or scare, the two of us and disappear without doing anything else indicates he's aware of the kinds of things he can get away with. The fact that he went for something he knows he can only monitor with more people, despite him being the sole perpetrator of his crimes thus far, indicates that he's almost _definitely _going to sell the encryptions, and almost _certainly _incentivize crime groups to rally against our sweeps. The encryptions allow access to our field communication network, and that is what he wants."

"He knows that you heard about Torchwick _and _he probably heard your plan to interrogate criminal organizations when we talked last," I growled. "What a headache. If only we knew how that vanishing worked."

"We've been hypothesizing, but without an official record of it, admittance by the possessor, or whatever else might explain it, it's hard to figure out," General Ironwood grudgingly admitted. "It's also, unsurprisingly, proving rather difficult to capture him for questioning. The best we can figure, at the very least, is that it isn't teleportation of any kind. He has some kind of method for ignoring solids, but what if that isn't related to him personally at all? There's too many missing pieces."

"I have only one suggestion." I looked Ironwood in the eyes. "And it may be our best shot."

"What is it?" General Ironwood asked.

"We're going to go get the asshat who owes me a martini. And make it fast. We're running out of time."


	7. NOT UNREAL, BUT UNBELIEVABLE

**CHAPTER SIX - NOT UNREAL, BUT UNBELIEVABLE**

* * *

**Vale**

**Streets of Vale**

_Investigation Start_

Night had fallen. So far, it didn't seem like anyone _was _intercepting the transmissions between us. Ironwood had indicated that it would take some time to crack the encryption, after all. Perhaps they hadn't had time to implement it yet.

"No signs of hostiles around the perimeter," I heard one of the soldiers next to me whisper into his communicator. "All the heat signatures are inside."

He motioned me, which was the cue I'd been told to watch for. I jumped onto the roof of the building that was about to be invaded.

A few of us, Winter included, were moving to positions that seemed uncovered. While we could still listen, we were void of communication to allies, so that we could potentially catch the enemy unaware if they moved around our field planning.

Winter crouched, alone, on a roof in another sector, and another Huntsman I didn't know was over in yet a third.

_Let's see them escape this one. _I glared down. The building shook as I felt the door give in to the Atlas soldiers' strike and they marched in to take the room in.

Then I heard a surprised shout over the comms.

"_No one's her-TAKE COVER!" _

My eyes widened and I jumped to another roof, and not a moment too soon. In a spectacular incendiary display, the building I was on exploded catastrophically in a blooming fireball, sending wooden shrapnel and debris flying. I hissed and unsheathed my blade.

Winter and the other Hunstman had looked over and tensed in instinct, reaching for their weapons, but stopped when the formation instructions for the sweep were given. They began to note when and where they needed to move.

And then, looking to my right, I happened to see a little silhouette creep up on the unknown Huntsman and disable his neck with an parasol. She tossed him dismissively off the roof.

_I know her. She's important. _

I dashed across the rooftops, but she did notice my presence. She raised an eyebrow playfully as her eyes cycled through colors of pink and brown. I slid my sword back into the sheath and prepared to jump to her roof, readying the quickdraw.

My feet left the rooftop, and I decisively jumped. The muscles in my arm tensed. I roared as Neo stood there.

I knew what would happen. She'd shatter like glass and appear behind me. But I was ready. I'd rehearsed this eventuality a thousand times, and-

_Wham. _

I felt a tug on the center member of my current five tails, and got whirled backwards and slammed into the shingles of the roof I'd just leapt off of. Stunned for but a microsecond, I prepared to get up...

...and found a terrible stabbing, burning pain in the base of the same tail. I cried out and instinctively flinched back down onto the rooftop.

Neo's eyes were both pale pink as she vanished. I didn't think she'd done that.

I heard footsteps dashing back the other way I'd come from, which meant they were heading for Winter.

The footsteps vanished before leaving the roof.

_Son of a bitch,_ _whatever stabbed me is exactly where I can't reach it, and it's nailing me to the roof! _I cursed, the pain staggering. _I have to use a tail to boost my strength, but more than that, just to get back onto my feet! _

My Aura flared up as the impaled tail surged back into my body. I leapt up, re-energized but cursing my luck, and dashed off in the other direction after plucking out the Dust-infused knife that had singed the base of my tail.

Four remaining.

I saw Winter summoning glyphs and blocking quick shots from the Mirage's energy gun, but otherwise on the defensive as his silhouette faded in and out, sometimes complete, sometimes a feint to trick her eyes without firing.

Then he saw me ready to quickdraw as I leapt over Winter, faster and stronger than before. The Mirage crouched as Winter retreated a few steps.

My slash met absolutely nothing as the shape of the Mirage faded out, but the roof was none too pleased as it groaned under the pressure of me snapping the ceiling supports, and neither were the civilians inside.

_Wham. _

I got a boot to the face as the Mirage reappeared on the other side of the slash's chasm. As I reeled back slightly, stunned for a brief instant, I noticed the Mirage raise the energy rifle. I prepared to guard the blast to my upper body, but he wasn't aiming there.

For a second, I saw sheer red, and pain lanced up my back.

I howled in sheer furious pain, realizing he'd blasted off another tail from the base. The intense heat cauterized the wound, but even so, that left three.

Fortunately, Winter was a professional. It probably helped that she cared little for me, but that worked in our favor, so I'd forgive it.

A glyph roughly sized for the Mirage appeared behind him, and he suddenly flew back, seemingly magnetized to its surface. He smacked against the glyph, and remained on it, albeit unsettlingly soundless.

I seized my chance, charging forward, prepared to quickdraw another time. This time, he didn't seem to be going anywhere. The glyph seemed effective, somehow, and I wasn't about to waste the only chance we'd gotten to stop the Mirage since his first appearance.

Then everything went wrong again.

The glyph fizzled out, and the Mirage dropped easily to the roof again. I got a high kick to the jawbone mid-charge just before I struck, and I collapsed onto the roof, dazed for a second.

I turned and saw that Winter's Aura was fading out, the critical point being a heavy burn on her arm. Following her gaze, I saw the dirty cheat of a perpetrator congratulating himself.

_Torchwick. _

And I'd know the heel that kicked me in the chin anywhere.

The Mirage and Neo circled in front of me. Neo winked as she pumped out her parasol, and her eyes cycled again, swapping the pink and brown hues.

I heard another _clang-fizzle _as Winter blocked another shot from Roman, but I knew that if she took a direct hit without her Aura, it was going to be game over.

I was facing down the duo of silent, shorter-than-me gymnast fighters who specialized in disappearing, and the Mirage was clearly playing the long game to cripple my tails. But I realized that if he'd wanted to try to kill me, he might have done so by now on multiple occasions. So why was he leaving me alive at every turn?

I also didn't want to find out what might happen if I got down to zero tails. It had never happened, but if it also meant my Semblance could be rendered useless, since I knew I needed at least one tail to grow more back at this point, I didn't want to risk it.

I gritted my teeth, and raised my sword in a ready position.

"You two have a _lot _in common, and I don't like _any _of the traits that spark the resemblance," I growled at them.

Well, if there was any consolation, it was that fighting alongside Neo would require the Mirage to fight fair and square so that they could coordinate better. I decided to take this opportunity to note what his weapon was, and if we could research its owner, but I cursed my luck.

All of his gear was generic. From the Atlas-made military sidearms to the energy rifle to the set of throwing knives. Even the extendable one-handed sword was generic.

Still, I supposed it was of lesser quality than the sword I wielded, being generic, so blocking my attacks was out of the question for him.

"_RETREAT!" _I heard the sweep teams take up the call along the communications network. I hesitated.

The Mirage and Neo leveraged the surprise they'd seen expressed, and began to dash, circling around me on either side. Neo folded her parasol in as she prepared to strike, and the Mirage's extendable longsword flicked out.

The Mirage slashed at me, but met with my quickdraw.

And he promptly shattered, leaving the shards of his illusion to vanish.

_DAMN IT, DOES THAT MOVE EVER WORK!? _I raged inwardly, then got a boot to the face from the Mirage's actual attack, a flying side kick from the air above the quickdraw's range. I steeled myself, then felt a thudding pain in the back of my head as the butt of Neo's parasol smacked it. I saw stars.

I quickly, but dizzily parried the Mirage's sword strikes as I stumbled forward, slowly recovering, and jumped over a sweep that Neo aimed at my legs. But they were on either side, and it wasn't exactly a fair fight, all things considered, so once I was in the air, the Mirage planted a kick into my upper abdomen, knocking the wind out of my lungs. Neo, prepared to capitalize by landing in a handstand position, did exactly that.

_Wham. _

I found myself higher in the air, and through my blurry vision, I saw the Mirage land, whirl around, and unholster his two Atlas sidearms.

_I guess there's no way around it, _I sighed in annoyance. _Credit where it's due: they've dragged me down to their pace. I have to overwhelm them. _

I consumed two more tails, leaving one remaining.

An immense surge of power graced my muscles, air returned to my lungs, and refreshed reflexes sharpened my senses. I blocked both energy bullets, and while falling, aimed a slash down at Neo, who shattered and reappeared next to the Mirage. As she recovered, though, I was already charging to attack again, and it didn't seem like either one of them was fully prepared.

Neo's eyes, fearful, both paled to a shade of light pink. The Mirage grabbed her arm and threw her another direction before vanishing. My slash crushed the roof where they'd been standing.

Neo leapt off the roof, vaulting over a chimney as the Mirage faded back into view, having appeared in a rather hasty improvised squat with one hand on the ground to stabilize his landing. His goggle-piece on the left looked a bit damaged. His lithe, acrobatic accomplice sailed to a landing on her umbrella and helped him up.

"Give up now," I warned them, my Aura growing still more aggressive. "This is your last chance."

Neo and the Mirage just stood there, watching. I prepared to quickdraw.

Then they high-fived each other, and shattered.

My eyes widened. I glanced wildly around, searching anywhere I could for them.

But after all my headache, they were gone.

"_I WAS JOKING!" _I roared. "_GET BACK HERE OR I'LL..." _

"Jack." I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched, still full of adrenaline, but it was just Winter. Winter's voice was strained. Her face was neutral, but hiding a somber interior. She shook her head.

"We lost."

I opened my mouth to protest, then saw that the streets were starting to become crowded with civilians, the criminals had all but vanished, and many of the Atlas' sweep squads were wounded.

Although, to be fair, things burning was just icing on the cake in Vale. Something or other was pretty much _always _on fire at any given time, so we weren't _necessarily _at fault there.

Still didn't feel any better.

My surge of power ran out slowly as I tried to help the wounded. Soon, it was all but a memory, and I was left alone.

Kind of reminded me of encounters with the Mirage.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Headmaster's Office_

I knocked on the door as politely as I could.

_BANG. BANG. BANG. _

Unfortunately, that still wasn't very polite considering how pissed I was.

Glynda opened the door. She noted my extreme lack of patience.

"General Ironwood notified us," she explained. "Things are worse than we expected. And I see you lost some tails."

The last remaining tail twitched angrily.

"_Yes, Glynda,_" I seethed. "_I was _there. Now, I need to talk to Qrow. Even though I have his number, and I _know _he has mine, he keeps responding with 'new Scroll, who dis' and it is _really _getting old."

"Qrow is in the middle of something rather crucial." Glynda began to close the door.

I caught the door and it groaned under stress.

"_**Really. Old.**_" I growled. Glynda sighed.

"Come in," she beckoned. "Now, we're trying to talk to him at the moment, so if you need to speak, wait till he's finished the briefing."

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Headmaster's Office - Interior_

"Oz, it's seriously a freakin' near-abandoned ghost town, and I can count the number of residents on my hands," Qrow told Ozpin. "It wasn't until yesterday that I found her, but Hell if I know why there's a single caretaker even by her side with this declining population."

"Why would she need a caretaker? Is she..." Glynda asked, concerned, trailing off.

"She's deathly ill, Oz. To say that she was knocking on Death's gates would be an understatement," Qrow solemnly explained. "She's about to step into the open doorway. There's not much that anyone can do for her, especially not with the condition she's in now."

"She was gone for such a long time," Glynda pondered. "And she could have spoken with us, but she chose not to. Strange."

"It doesn't seem like she went off-the-grid by unintentional means," Qrow affirmed. "She really just set up a life here. Or...tried to. There's a picture by her bedside, Oz. It's him."

Ozpin sat up a little more. "The Vacuo student?"

"Yeah," Qrow affirmed. "I did more digging. He had to watch his family die once already as a very young boy. Selene was his last hope, I guess. She must've done well if her kid's in the Vytal Festival tournament. According to the residents remaining in the town, he _was _a victim of the string of murders, and after Selene put the crime wave to rest, she took him in."

"He survived his parents' murder," Glynda realized. "How? Why would the killer leave him alive?"

Qrow seemed to go silent for a few seconds.

"I'm not thinking that it was intentionally sparing his life that kept him alive," Qrow answered. "And that's where I left off. There's so many missing pieces of information even in the arrest records of the murderer, and so many people who would know anything more have left or died years ago. But I'm so close..."

He sounded tantalized by the promise of a breakthrough. Glynda interrupted.

"Jack's here to see you," Glynda told him. "He also says that your little 'new Scroll, who dis' joke is getting...and I quote..._really old._"

"She's right, you know," I called, stalking furiously over to Ozpin's desk.

"Oh, who's this?" Qrow asked mockingly. "Sorry, this is a new Scroll."

"_Cut this crap _right _now!" _I roared. "_The Mirage is absolutely problematic and horrible, and _now _he's also buddy-buddy with that Neopolitan girl. I lost four tails! __**Four! **__These things don't just grow on trees, __**Branwen. **__I have _one _left, and the tournament's in..." _

I paused.

"Ozpin, when is the tournament?" I asked.

"The day after tomorrow," he informed me.

"Yeah, the _day after-" _I froze. "Crap, _really?" _

"Whatever about the tournament," Qrow scoffed. "It'll do you some good to have to fight hard without those tails as a crutch. Just try not to get killed by the Mirage."

"About that," I qualified. "He doesn't seem to want me dead. For that matter, he really hasn't racked up any kind of body count. And for someone with his abilities, it would be really easy. I'm starting to wonder why."

"Hm. Honestly, if he wanted to be a criminal, it seems like a waste of that disappearing act of an ability to not use it in an assassination," Qrow noted.

"Are you complaining?" Glynda glowered at him. "Notably, there's a lot of people and criminals who don't like _you _and would probably hire him to end _your _life soundlessly and without evidence. We have to consider other possibilities. Maybe he was hired to do his work with as little bloodshed as possible, or he's taken that parameter on himself."

"Either way, he's already earned a life sentence a hundred times over," Qrow argued back. "We can't get caught up in some moral quandary, because if we assume he's some kind of saint, he might want that to become a weakness anyway, and we'll _never _get him. Mark my words. You can't rely on the mercy of your enemy."

I got a chill. Casper had said almost the exact same thing.

_Deja vu, huh..._


	8. THE SURPRISE

**CHAPTER SEVEN: THE SURPRISE**

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_JSPR's Dorm - Interior_

I walked in on my three teammates staring down the three members of CYAN who had proven themselves as agents involved with the White Fang.

Of course, I couldn't assume that my team knew that yet, so I had to quiet down, lest the mystery end early.

I realized I was still standing in the doorway, and no one had moved. They just kept...staring at each other.

"Hey, uh, guys..." I waved awkwardly.

_Silence. _

"Anyone know...where Casper is?" I asked, somehow besting the awkwardness of the initial wave.

"He's in our dorm sleeping," the boxer-cretin answered, not taking his eyes off of Pauline.

"Can you not stare at Pauline?" I growled. "I don't care if you have a crush on her. This is creepy."

"His name is Neil, _Princess Handjob," _Allen mocked, not taking _his _eyes off of Regalia. "And _they _started it."

"Oh, to Hell with you for that name. And as for you, you started _what?" _I turned to Sasha, who was nearest the door.

"A s-staring contest," she said, struggling not to blink as Yan silently radiated intense pressure in her direction. "God, he's like a statue. Why didn't you guys match Regalia with him!?"

"All calculated." Neil continued to gaze lovingly and disgustingly into the eyes of Pauline. "Our supremacy is in our strategic, decisive victories as singular units. Simply put, we are _ass _at teamwork, but any one of us could beat any one of _you _clowns at _literally_ _anything ever_ as long as we don't fight...how do the kids put it? '_Cooperatively.'_"

"Hey, you can't..." Regalia glared deeper at Allen, but Allen seemed unmoved. He smirked.

"Can't we, though?" He chuckled. "I mean, sure, as for you, Casper was the best in our number by leagues and leagues. But do you know how vulnerable your textbook disciplinary approach to combat is to unconventional techniques? It didn't take a Casper to see it, though he could've been _handpicked_ to exploit your weakness that way. Hell, it didn't even take a Yan to see it. We _all _saw it and knew the battle was over before you even had a chance to win. That is the difference between us."

Regalia fell silent. She'd balled her fists where she sat, and they were trembling with rage.

At that moment, Sasha yelled in frustration. I realized that she had blinked. Yan got up and brushed past me.

"Better luck next time, _JSPR," _he drawled quietly, giving me a pointed look as he left. The other two members of his team followed suit, but they left me a respectable distance, unlike Yan.

"Hope the hunt for the Mirage is going well," Neil whispered. "Though, judging by your lack of fluffiness, I assume you're disappointing us in your painfully obvious way."

They hiss-giggled down the hallway. I held in my barely-controllable rage as if I were some kind of colossal titan shouldering the weight of Remnant's body.

Once they turned the corner, and I could hear them no longer, I slammed my fist into the wall and cracked it slightly.

My teammates, one of which was cursing her weakness and crying, and the other two of which who were comforting her, startled and glanced quickly at me.

"Jack?" Regalia, the _de facto _lieutenant of the team, stood and began to approach me. "What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on. I just _really _wish I could do that to one of _them," _I lied. "And I guess tournament stress is a factor."

The truth was, I wanted to do that to Team CYAN's last three letters, yes, but the _real _focus of my ire was the Mirage, who now had not only scared Sasha half to death, but had now crippled the Atlas military's communication in the field by making a profit off of their encryptions, _used _the encryptions to scatter and severely cripple the _physical _soldiers, and was now starting to create no ignorable amount of unrest in the civilians of Vale. In fact, he'd become a significant risk to national security.

All I knew was that the Mirage was still somehow affected by the world around him even while supposedly invulnerable, because in saving Neo, he'd fallen off the roof. Though I'd missed _him _specifically, his helmet's eyepiece had cracked. I imagined he'd damaged it while "away."

The final lie was tournament stress. Sure, losing a few tails was quite an oof. But what worried me was the fact that the Mirage was even freer to move about during the day as long as the Vytal Festival matches continued.

Sasha looked up at me. "Is that the truth?"

I was about to lie again, but I hesitated, because it seemed she already knew the answer.

"Don't say it," Sasha commanded. "A lie by omission is still a _lie._ Where were you yesterday? It was the Mirage, wasn't it?"

This shocked Pauline and Regalia.

"Jack, you're _still _chasing the Mirage?" Pauline sounded hurt. "Why didn't you _tell _us?"

"Because I don't _want _you to _die!" _I shouted. "Everyone around me that gets near him only finds a hand through their chest and imminent, unavoidable death. Hell, he even got into the Atlas _Embassy _and could have killed _General Ironwood. _So far, I'm the _only one _he hasn't threatened that way! This way, at least no one _else _can get hurt!"

"I don't like Casper," Regalia quietly admitted. "Maybe it's just my injured pride talking; what several students in our class could only dream of doing - toppling me from a high rank - he did almost effortlessly. But when he got angry, he was right, Jack. _You cannot rely on the mercy of your opponents._ And I'm going to be honest, Jack, it may not have been visible from your seat, but when he said that, I saw not only anger, but _betrayal _in his eyes. If you don't take it from me, take it from someone who's definitely learned that lesson the hard way."

"So _what? _My resolve is still the same," I argued back. "Even if someone has to die, it's _not _going to be one of you three if I can help it."

"_Enough!" _Pauline stood between me and Regalia. Her stern tone broke the tension. "Sasha, Regalia, take a break. I'll talk to you in a moment."

Pauline, the legendary mediator. The two glanced at each other, then left the room without question.

Pauline turned to me.

"I'm not angry that you're trying to protect the ones you love," she said. "And don't get me wrong, it's a touching gesture, but _grow up." _

I'm not going to lie, I almost stumbled at that one.

"Every single _one _of us - not just you, not just Regalia - signed on to this line of work _knowing _that at _any moment, _Mirage or not, our lives might be forfeit," Pauline explained forcefully. "It could be a Nevermore. It could be some member of the White Fang who has a sudden inclination to stab us in a lack of self-control. And yes, it could even be the Mirage. But my point? You aren't going to be there forever either way. That's just how it is."

I said nothing, waiting. Pauline breathed deeply.

"You may not like Atlas, but they understand the most important aspect of being a Huntsman or Huntress, however misguided their follow-through might be," Pauline concluded. "They understand that _all _of us risk our lives for the greater good without exemption. Sure, we don't like that you risked your life, but we don't like that because you did it _alone._"

Pauline gripped my hand.

"At least _tell _us next time." Her pain was completely clear to me. "That's it."

I closed my eyes and nodded. Pauline turned and left the room to go speak to the other two. I realized, also, that we should probably spend the next day preparing for the tournament as a group, something we'd neglected to do with the arrival of CYAN and the appearance of the Mirage.

Well, cramming had always been my strength. And I had it on authority that it was also Sasha and Pauline's, and Regalia was already very good. I supposed we'd be fine.

...if we worked around the roadblock of emotion that had just come up, of course.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_CYAN's Dorm - Exterior_

After Pauline had brought Sasha and Regalia back, we all made up just fine. Understanding my intentions, they admitted they might have done the same. Consequently, I realized the insult to their position as Huntresses. Before the day ended, we decided to go get training done in a group setting.

Unfortunately, that meant we'd have to pass by..._you-know-where. _

As soon as we rounded the corner, we got a round of applause from Yan, Allen, and Neil, who also wolf-whistled at us.

_I really, really, _really, **really **_want to get matched against them in the first round and clean their clocks, _I seethed. _Please, if any Gods are listening..._

"The _champions, _ladies and gentlemen!" The boxer-cretin Neil announced in a faux-macho voice. "Please hold your applause until the end. The beating we inflict on them is going to take _quite a while._"

"You're the only ones clapping right now," I accused them, irritated.

"No, we're just clapping _back,_" Allen retorted. "Of course, we're professionals, so we'll play the tournament by the straight and narrow, but personally, between the two of us, I am going to _absolutely _inflict gratuitous beatings on you for no reason, and they may or may not be before, during, and after the match is over."

"Fantastic," I groaned. "Shouldn't you be...you know, preparing together for that chance?"

"_Someone _didn't listen when their team lost a staring contest," Neil mocked derisively. "Our strategy is, of course, divide and conquer. The more we practice as a team, the worse our odds. And even if Casper is sleeping, we did tell him our plan and the overarching reasoning. The long and short of that: he seemed to wipe the sweat from his brow and breathe a gigantic sigh of relief, which is not good for you."

"So, are you confident that you're the first match?" I asked.

"No, because in fairness, the bracket hasn't been released yet," Allen responded. "But seeing as you're the..._eugh..._best and brightest...good god, I just threw up a little in my mouth having to admit that...of Vale, and we are undoubtedly the best fighters in the pool of Vacuo's participants...it seems just about inevitable that our teams will cross paths in this tournament, even if it has to go to the Top Eight. And I have no doubts that Casper can make it that far."

"How is he going to get practice if he's sleeping _again?" _I pressed X to doubt. "Can I just peek in at him? I'm starting to not believe he actually sleeps like that. What's that supposed to be, twenty hours a _calendar day?" _

"I mean, it's more like eighteen," Neil qualified. "But, yes, he does actually sleep that long. See for yourself."

The door creaked open as Neil moved it slowly. I peered into the door, and sure enough, gazed upon the strange Vacuo prodigy turning over in his sleep on the lower bunk, breathing lightly.

"Good God, even I don't...or rather, _can't _sleep that much," I breathed, pulling out of the doorway as Neil clicked the door shut. "Has he won an award for that yet?"

"I don't know. Maybe if he wins whatever honor you're supposed to win in the Vytal Festival, it'll count," Allen postulated. "Seriously, I have no idea what biologically has to happen to conk someone out for that long. I don't think it's even possible to string together that many REM cycles ordinarily. Now, go train. You've grown tiresome and we do not care to discuss our leader's Circadian rhythm because the topic is so boring we will start sleeping too."

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Courtyards - Sunset Before the Tournament_

"All right." Pauline grinned giddily. "We may actually have a chance!"

"We'll show those clowns!" Sasha pumped her fist. "Speaking of which, where's the bracket?"

"Right here," Regalia beckoned. She had her Scroll in hand. "Unfortunately, nowhere in the initial bracket, teams or doubles, do we have a chance of facing off against CYAN."

"Lucky them," Sasha grumbled. "Who's the first one?"

"A team from Atlas..." Regalia squinted at the print. "VLTT?"

It had sounded like she'd said _Violet. _

"All right." I chuckled. "We have our first victims. They'll never know what hit-"

I stopped. I watched as someone familiar to me stood, staring up at the fountain statue. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Casper?" I couldn't believe he was actually out and about. My teammates followed my gaze, and I felt their unease.

"Well, Jack, if you're going to talk to him, do it now," Regalia urged. "Come tomorrow, I'm not sure how much time you'll have to ask him what you need to about his past."

I nodded, and pursed my lips as I took a casual pace walking towards him.

"Hey," I addressed Casper. He turned around, and I didn't see any joy in his eyes.

"Hello," he responded.

"I've heard Qrow's investigation results thus far," I told him. "You want to save your hometown, don't you? That's why you're here."

"All of us want to protect something close to us," he wistfully, vaguely intoned. "Sometimes it's something as simple as our birthplace. Sometimes it's a resource valuable to us. But for me, it is neither. The others who lived in my town left long ago, and to ask them to start their lives over again in the nothing of a wasteland that is the Star of the Desert would be selfish and fruitless. I just don't want to watch another member of my family die."

I noted that he had a scroll in his left hand. I saw slow, few-and-far-between wavelike spikes on it, and a deep red background.

My gaze softened.

"That's her heart." I said aloud, simultaneously realizing the truth. "That's Selene Lovewright."

"She has days." Casper clicked the _power _button on his scroll, and it shut off. He pocketed it. "I haven't spoken to her in over a year. And my last words to her were false ones. At first, I wondered. Did I only care about her knowing I regretted my lie? What was the point in only saving her for my sake? Of course, that doubt was equally as foolish as the lie I told her."

Casper breathed in shakily.

"I wanted her to realize that I didn't want to distrust her," he spoke quietly, trying to steady his voice. "I wanted her to see that she hadn't failed me. When she closed her eyes that final time and left me in silence, she wasn't angry or betrayed. She was _crying._ I've hurt people. I've crushed so many dreams just to be where I am today. But none of the dreams I have killed hurt nearly as much as watching her...my guardian and savior...fear that I could not trust her enough to open my heart even as she crossed to the other side."

I felt the weight of Casper's loneliness and sorrow in that moment. It was a crushing burden even to witness.

"Don't take the support of your loved ones for granted, Jack." He turned away and began to walk back to his dorm. "There may come a day when you have to bury them yourself, after all, and when you do, regrets will take the places where your friends and family once walked by your side."

I decided not to follow him, to say anything. Sometimes, the kindest option is to merely listen. Sasha, Pauline, and Regalia flocked around me, watching the silent departure of Casper Lovewright. They looked worried, nervous, as they stared after him.

I reached around my three teammates and pulled them close. For some reason, Casper's words had hit especially hard today.

"You are all the best companions I could have asked for," I told them. "Thank you."

As strict as Regalia was, even she sensed that this was a sensitive moment. She hugged back.

"Of course, Jack," she whispered.

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Tournament Grounds**

_JSPR's Victory Celebration_

Maybe the Mirage was a festival-goer. He hadn't been active stealing anything the day before, or even today, for that matter.

As far as I knew. I hadn't yet discounted the possibility that news about the Mirage might be being tamped down, as little content as they could print about him anyway. Things like that could prove dangerous in or to the Vytal Festival.

But my teammates seemed excited.

"Nailed it!" Sasha pumped her fist. "Flawless victory."

"It was, once Jack decided that an all-girls team from Atlas was going to wreck his life if he didn't decide to stop drooling," Regalia jabbed indignantly.

"Hey! I..." I retorted, then stopped. My ears flattened. "...I _did _stop. Give me some credit here."

Pauline giggled. "I guess we've made progress, then."

Brushing off their teasing remarks, I scanned the crowd of people. I found Casper seated at a juice bar. He seemed to have found something he liked and was absent-mindedly swishing his glass. Then he sighed, pulled a steel flask out of his leg pocket, and poured something into the drink once he was sure no one could see him. He subsequently stowed the flask away again.

_Sure is Qrow in here, _I thought to myself. _Is he planning on fighting drunk? _

I decided I wanted to talk to Casper again. I steeled myself and walked across the street. My teammates watched from afar, realizing my motive.

"Hey, what's that?" I asked Casper, motioning to his drink.

"It's a Desert Nova." He cracked a small smile, looking into the glass. "A cocktail name that holds significance to me. You know, a nova is the death of a star..."

_A drink that signifies the death of his town, _I realized. _Wow, for him, drinking that is a power move and a half. _

"Wait, you said it's a cocktail. Why'd you spike it?" I asked. Casper blinked.

"Oh, you saw that, then?" Casper chuckled. "I guess I've gotten used to a particular substance for that part of the cocktail. It has to be the right stuff. You know?"

He raised his glass while I puzzled over his strange inclination.

"Cheers." He smiled. "To the future that starts with us."

He drank a sip, and waved to his team, who were approaching from behind me. I took the chance to leave, saying a brief goodbye.

Why was he making me so uneasy? Maybe all the pressure to succeed was getting to him. Maybe his adoptive mother being on her last breaths of life required him to cope with his pain somehow, and this...twisted happiness was his way of trying to move on.

I cast a glance over my shoulder at him being brought to the tournament bracket by his team. Was it just me, or was he a few shades...paler? Not from nervousness, no...what was it?

Even if he was my opponent, I had to worry about him.

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Tournament Grounds**

_JSPR's Strategy Talk_

"They _won!?" _Regalia shrieked in rage. "Is this for _real?" _

I was conflicted. I wanted Casper to do well. But I really wanted the other three dudes on CYAN to bite it.

...which, unfortunately, they did not do. They actually clowned all of their individual opponents by dividing and efficiently conquering, and damn them, they did not lose a single person.

Though I guess what mattered more was ensuring that my friends succeeded than ensuring my hated adversaries failed. At least they'd selected Casper and Yan to move on, so I wouldn't have to see the more obnoxious ones fight for the rest of the tournament, or worse, actually do well.

"We won't have to fight them, Jack," Regalia pondered. "They have shown you their hand, though. Now it seems that the only one of us who has the potential to match up against CYAN is you, and it's leader-to-leader if it comes to that."

"Well, first, we have to _get _there," I cautioned her. "The first round's over, but the next won't be as easy."

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Tournament Grounds**

_JSPR's Room_

It was the middle of the night when I heard the first footsteps running down the hallway. My ears perked up.

_Wait a minute, that's urgent. _

I crept up, careful not to wake my sleeping teammates, least of all my combat partner for the next day, Regalia.

I opened the door, and more students were emerging, and chattering amongst themselves.

I heard the word _Mirage. _

"What about the Mirage?" I demanded. "I've been trying to catch him for ages."

"Well, if the rumors are true, you can rest easy," a girl from Atlas replied, seemingly battling confusion and shock. "They're saying Casper Lovewright from Vacuo caught the Mirage!"

I blinked in surprise. "Oh."

_WHAT!? _My brain burst with bewilderment.


	9. WHAT?--SOMETHING ISN'T ADDING UP

**CHAPTER EIGHT: WHAT!? / SOMETHING ISN'T ADDING UP**

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Tournament Grounds**

_The Arena_

_WHAT!? _

_WHAT!? _

_WHAT!? _

_WHAT!? _

_WHAT!? _

_WHAT!? _

_WHAT!?_

_WHAT!? _

_WHAT!? _

_**WHAT!? **_

"And Regalia and Jack from Beacon are the winners!" Professor Port announced from the ambo. We got cheers and applause from our Kingdom.

"Yes, Jack! We did it!" Regalia whooped in a manner much unlike her usual all-business demeanor. "We can win this tournament!"

"...yeah, we...can..." I half-murmured, absentmindedly.

_..._

_NO, SERIOUSLY, __**WHAT!?**_

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Tournament Grounds**

_JSPR's Room_

"This just in! The infamous Mirage, whose heists, burglaries, and rallies of organized crime rings around Vale have disturbed a long-standing peace, has been jailed by none other than an unexpected arrival from Vacuo's team CYAN!" A peppy newscaster with grey hair and purple eyes heralded this news with intense excitement. "A source from Atlas' Embassy has confirmed the helmet and body armor match. The question is, Casper Lovewright, how did you do what the Atlas military has been trying for the better part of a two-week span?"

Casper, on the broadcast, was staring at his Scroll. From the red background, I knew he must be watching Selene's heart rate and vitals. I saw grief and anxiety in his eyes.

"...Mr. Lovewright?" the newscaster asked again. Casper looked up, almost surprised, at the sound of his name, but his eyes cleared and he answered.

"It was strange to see him out in the open that way," Casper said. "Honestly, he faded into view, shimmering strangely, and I decided to dive on him from my window. Must have been meant to be, as any of my team can tell you, because I sleep for about three-quarters of the day. I had only one shot at it, and I knew it. So I luckily nailed his temples, and he stopped moving. I got him to the authorities as fast as I could. Although I did some research, I couldn't find his stash of ill-gotten money or anything of value on him."

He glanced back down at his Scroll. His foot was tapping. I could see the red background shining on his face.

The newscaster seemed to understand, and shifted the broadcast's focus, at which point I turned off the news.

The room was dead silent.

"_**WHAT!?**_" I roared rhetorically. "After _all this time? _On one hand, good for us, but on the other, _**WHAT!?**_"

"What was he looking at?" Pauline, the motherly concerned member of our team, asked. "He seemed...sad. Distressed."

"That's..." I breathed out. "That's his mother's heart monitor. She's sick, only has a few days left to live, and he's not taking it well."

I'd feel worse about killing their joyous celebration over our tournament win if any of them still had to fight, but that was just on me at this point. I mean, I did still _feel _awful for making them sad, but it wouldn't impact their performance and make them regret things, so that was fine, at least.

"Props to him for fighting this hard," Sasha complimented bleakly. "It must be _really _difficult, on top of everything, to stay focused."

I really _had _killed the mood if Sasha felt this bad for someone who hung around with Team CYAN's last three letters.

"I'm..." I pointed to the door. "I'm gonna go take a walk. I need to get some space before the final round tomorrow."

Without waiting for a reply, I shut the door behind me.

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Headmaster's Office - Exterior_

It seemed like things should be wrapping up nicely. But the longer this tournament dragged on, the more and more uneasy I got, and the more unsettling things seemed to become. I finally reached the door, the oh-so-familiar door I'd become accustomed to, and made my presence known. I knew it was strange that I'd come back here before the tournament's end the next day...but frankly, something wasn't adding up.

_Tak tak tak. _

Glynda opened the door, and seemed surprised to see me.

"Jack? Why have you come here? The tournament's over tomorrow. Is something the matter?" she asked, mildly concerned in her own way.

"I need to ask Ozpin about the investigation in Vacuo," I told her. "And I have something to say."

"Make it fast," the stern Goodwitch motioned me inside. "You're in luck. Qrow's talking to the Headmaster."

I made my way through the entrance and stepped into the center of the circular room.

"Oz, it's looking like she's going to stabilize," Qrow's voice was mystified. "And I can't imagine who bought the cure for her. It's figures like I'd never see in a million years."

"Something isn't adding up, indeed," Ozpin answered. "Strange timing. I'm certain that Casper must have lied about not finding the money that the Mirage had, but there's no proof that he did. And more curious is the Mirage's denial of the charges pressed against him. He has the same build and proportions that must have been in the body armor, and the body armor had sustained damage from when Jack threw the Mirage off of that roof in Vale during the Atlas sweep. We cannot test the charges against him, however. It appears that the restraints on him are preventing his disappearance, and if we remove them, there is no telling how he could act. We need more time to figure this out."

"Casper caught the-" Qrow began, surprised, then suddenly spoke with a sense of urgency. "Oz, why didn't you tell me this _sooner!?" _

"Qrow? What's the matter?" Glynda asked, confused.

"Hang on, Oz, I'll be right back!" Qrow shouted. "Damn it, there's _no way..._"

_Click. _

_Kssshhhhhh_

"Get some rest, Jack," Ozpin commanded me. "You've got a big day tomorrow."

He leaned forward. He had something on his mind, but if I knew anything about Ozpin, he'd never share until he was certain. I'd come for so little conversation, and it had only confused me further.

I bowed respectfully, and left the office.

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Arena**

_Final Eight Elimination Round_

And then there were eight.

The spotlights shone like a circle of suns around the eight of us who remained. Among the number, as expected, were Casper and I.

He seemed different. His longer locks of hair were tied back into a half-bun. And his knives seemed different. In addition, wrapped around his legs and on his belt were cartridges of Dust. I hadn't noticed if he'd had them before the start of the tournament, but I supposed taking in every available detail would serve me well before I got thrown to the lions.

And it seemed today, he seemed quite relieved. Confident. Even...intense. He was driven to win. There was no sign that he'd been grieving a few days ago.

_Did someone tell him his mother was going to be okay? _I wondered. _Probably. I mean, it's none of my business if he stole the Mirage's bounty to pay for his mother's treatment, honestly. It's all Atlas money, after all, and that should teach them a lesson. Well, at least he'll fight to the best of his abilities. He'll have to if he wants to win this tournament, after all. _

"Our first match will be randomly decided from the roster of eight finalists!" Professor Oobleck explained. "Start the wheel!"

Two faces came up. Neither one was me, and neither was Casper, so we were all dismissed from the stage as the combatants circled each other.

One, from Mystral, was a young lady who held nunchaku, and the other, a male student from Atlas, had two flintlock pistols holstered at his sides.

I tried to move over to sit next to Casper where we watched the fight from below the rising stage. My efforts succeeded, and I found myself at his left.

"You look better today," I told Casper, before the beginning bell. "Anything happen?"

He flashed a smile, still looking up at the stage, and flashed me the screen of his scroll. The color of the vitals and heart rate had turned yellow, but was very close in its gradient to green.

I grinned back, pleased at this turn of events.

"Congratulations, man!" I whispered, nudging him with my elbow. "How'd it happen?"

"I think it might have been some kind of anonymous donor," he smiled wider. "I don't really want to question the motivations. Either way, I'm ready to win this thing."

The buzzer sounded. The match onstage began. My heart began to race as I watched the incredible skill on display up above. A stunning clash between two schools of thought and two Kingdoms at the same time.

Now I had no qualms about facing Casper if it happened.

_We're both ready._

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Arena**

_Backstage - The Final Round_

My team crowded around me. They were rapid-firing words of encouragement, excited, nervous, terrified, overjoyed, proud.

I loved all of them.

"_In just a few minutes, the mysterious and unpredictable Casper Lovewright of Vacuo, and the swift, deft, and powerful Jack Gehrman of Vale will face off for the glory of their Kingdoms!" _Professor Port announced. The crowd was almost silent, murmuring in suspense from outside. I knew that a hundred meters or so across the arena, my opponent was waiting in a room just like mine.

"Hoo boy," I breathed in and out. I felt a _lot _of pressure to succeed. "This is a doozy."

"Don't worry, Jack," Regalia winked. "He may have thrown me off, but he'll never get you. You are the weirdest guy I know."

I blinked. "Thanks?"

"No problem," she laughed. "Now, go get-"

My scroll rang. A conference between Qrow and Ozpin...and _me. _

I smiled. "Excuse me for one second."

My teammates backed away and watched. I pressed the _Call _button.

"_OZ! CALL IT OFF!" _Qrow sounded urgent. Panicked. "_IT'S CASPER!" _

"Qrow..." Ozpin began, confused.

"_I heard those rumors, Oz, and I dismissed them!" _Qrow sounded furious with himself. "_The talk of those missing footprints. The vanishing humanoid shape? But I only just now heard when that disappearing shape stopped showing up around town! __**Two weeks ago!**_"

Ozpin seemed to go silent, but not the waiting kind of silent.

It was the silence of realization.

"_The prison record of the woman who stabbed Casper's parents, whose lung collapsed from the inside? She couldn't find him in the house during her murdering spree, but he never moved an inch! The displaced flesh and spine, with no way in or out of her confinement, and absolutely no sign of intrusion into her cell!?" _Qrow roared. "_The transfer of funds from an unknown source! The missing money from the Mirage's heists! CASPER! __**CASPER LOVEWRIGHT IS THE MIRAGE! **__CALL THE FIGHT OFF!_"

"_And now, let's bring out the fighters!" _I heard from the outside, amidst my chilling fear. I hung up and put my scroll down.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Pauline asked. "What did they say!?"

"If something happens to me out there, do not waste _any time,_" I warned Sasha, Pauline, and Regalia, deathly serious. "_Run. _Because _Casper _is the Mirage, and I'm told he's killed for _revenge_ before."


	10. THE FINAL ACT

**CHAPTER NINE: THE FINAL ACT**

* * *

**Vytal Festival**

**Tournament Grounds**

_The Final Battle_

I paced around the octagonal stage, trying to steady my erratic, jumpy pulse. Casper, too, circled. Silently. Soundlessly.

Just like he'd always been.

Last time we'd met, he'd shorn off four tails from my body and hadn't made any more noise.

"You know, Jack," he began, reminding me that the ultimate risk to national security was fighting in a sanctioned celebratory tournament just a few meters away from me. "I've always looked forward to fighting you in a setting like this. I've seen you in action quite a lot, and I finally get to meet a hero of mine."

"Of course you'd want to meet your hero," I countered. "Because you're the _villain, _aren't you? And what's the deal with this setting in particular? Got tired of the city streets?"

For a moment, Casper narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, I guess the jig's up," Casper laughed, smiling. "Yes, Jack, I was the Mirage. I knew there was a significant chance the cure would expose _my_ involvement, but it must have been the locals and the prison records that exposed my _true _identity."

"Why stick around? Didn't you get what you wanted?" I asked hostilely. "Your mother's safe, the Atlas military is in disarray with a need for new communication encryptions, and my friends all have PTSD. And I'm just now realizing that all your vague little syntax riddles were hints _all this time._"

Casper grinned, but now I saw a wicked gleam in his eyes, and I started to believe what Qrow had discovered in the prison records. But Qrow was wrong to question his lack of focus on assassination.

He _was _a born killer, even if he didn't spend his time that way.

"I could have dropped out and cited a medical emergency for Mom, yes," he said, his voice singing with a dangerous edge like one of his knives. "But I'd be lying if I didn't say I was looking forward to displaying a little _supremacy._ It's one thing to know your own superiority, but it is quite another to _prove_ it, Jack. And I know you feel that, too."

"_Three..." _Port started the final countdown.

Casper clicked his knife pommels against two Dust cartridges on his belt. They locked in, and he raised them in a less unconventional stance.

Since quickdrawing had never seemed to work, I unsheathed the katana at my side and held it in both hands in front of me.

"End of the line, Casper," I threatened.

"_Two..." _

He smirked. "A lot of people say that it's the end of the line when they see my footprints end in the desert."

"_One..." _

His grin grew wicked.

"But, just like you, they're often irredeemably wrong," he answered with a sinister tone. "And with that..._see you later._"

I scowled. My hands tensed on my blade's handle.

I was aware of everything around me. My teammates on the edge of their seats. The crowd holding its breath.

"_BEGIN!" _Port's voice boomed. The buzzer sounded.

Not intending to waste any time (because the sooner I whupped him, the sooner he'd be jailed forever) I dashed at him. He seemed to crouch slightly.

I slid past him, my initial slash dodged by a hair as he cartwheeled onto one hand and landed on his feet behind me. Just as he recovered, I pivoted and swung a more potent slash at him. The blow met both his knives, and he slid back a fair distance without the muscular strength to fortify his position against my greater power. I lunged forward after him, then brought my blade up over his head, and slashed down, forcing him to block.

Suddenly, though, my sword stopped dead. The crowd held its breath.

I'd made a critical error.

"Forgot something, huh?" Casper grunted. "I'm the son of the Bladecatcher. Speaking of her, though, I _do_ hope she's watching this."

He flicked his finger on his free knife, and the blade glowed a vivid cyan color. The Dust cartridge was active.

Before I could move again, he pitched his knife straight into the heel of my shoe, and froze it to the ground with the knife inside the block of ice. He spun, pivoting his knife under my blade and kicked me heavily in the face.

I turned to the right to avoid having my nose broken. I saw a red flicker of Aura, pain exploded across my left cheek, and I reeled a little bit backwards, but I was still stuck. I could only plant my other foot while trying to find a space to breathe and free my left leg. I slashed at him again, but he swiftly dodged again to my other side. He slammed his metal-heeled boot into my other knee cap - the right leg - with a sickening _thud. _

My aura flickered around the impact site, but that blow had been completely unimpeded, and I had to try hard to keep my balance without staggering on the initial impact. Knowing he might just dodge again if I attacked him, I slashed quickly through the ice block on my left leg, and kicked at the knife, sending it flying away as a last-second countermeasure. Unfortunately, being frozen and cold, my left leg was slightly less responsive, and the injury on my right was pulsing with a dull pain.

"You're a tough one," Casper noted, as he circled around me. "I did think that would severely handicap you, but I guess your Aura really isn't a joke."

As he spoke, pacing around, I knew he was playing on my expectations, trying to get me to turn from his knife. So I continued to stand between him and his weapon, which had skittered near the edge.

I realized that I held some kind of power in this situation. I was pretty hurt, sure, but I could rid him of his dual-wielding abilities right now and possibly tip the scales the other way.

Casper chuckled.

"Should have just circled around," his voice taunted. "It's a good train of thought, getting rid of my weapon, but that expectation is why I started moving this way. You know what _this_ cartridge is?"

My eyes narrowed as he brought up his other knife, whose pommel and blade glowed...

_Black! _

My eyes widened. That Dust was...

I jumped to the left at the last second - better to land on the frozen leg than the injured one - but I felt a slight brush of air against my right arm as a wickedly sharp blade whirled past. Casper caught it out of the air as it was about to sail past him on its trajectory, then twirled it and ejected the empty cartridge, which clattered to the arena floor.

He swiped it past his belt. I heard another clicking sound as the next cartridge locked in. He scraped both of his knives together in a showy, albeit threatening gesture as he began to approach again, his eyes locked on me.

I couldn't keep this up. The more I pushed the injured leg, the sooner it was sure to give out. My left leg was recovering from potential frostbite, but still too slowly to help keep up with this deadly adversary.

I was seriously considering my Plan B at that moment.

Realizing as he approached that I couldn't let him go on the offensive before I could apply pressure under these circumstances, I decided to focus mainly on what I still had - my arms. I pushed off on my left leg and put more of my focus on quick, light attacks rather than heavy ones. As long as I knew he wasn't as physically powerful as I was, I could budget muscular strength and turn this battle into muscular endurance.

_Screw you, Plan B. Never mind. _

Casper parried my quicker strikes, searching for his opening, and couldn't seem to find one. I realized this was the winning move. I began to push a little harder and press for the stage's edge, which suddenly seemed extremely far away.

Casper feinted left, and stumbled slightly. I saw my chance!

I slashed with a greater power than the prior assault had contained, but not before Casper disengaged, and I realized that he'd ejected the Dust cartridge from the recently-reloaded knife as I slashed through it.

The volatility of the Dust and the power of my slash did not make for a good combination.

A great plume of fire erupted and singed my sword arm as I leapt back. I spat a parched clot of saliva in my mouth out, starting to feel the effects of the high-paced fight. I wasn't entirely short of breath, but it was becoming a concern.

If I was feeling it, it was entirely certain that him placing this much pressure on me was taking its toll on him, too. He didn't have my endurance or strength, and he'd been jumping and dodging about the entire fight. My only concern was the distance he'd created between the nature of our injuries on _top _of the constant exertion. He'd almost crippled both my legs, and scorched my dominant hand. _All_ of these injuries could continue to be a factor for the rest of the fight - whichever way that went.

I knew he hadn't planned for my shift of tactics, but little did that matter when he had still evolved to match it. He was dangerous.

On instinct, I landed a little harder on my right leg after jumping back, and a spiking pain lanced through my nerves. I cried out for a brief instant, and froze up.

It was time for Casper to come jumping out of the smoke left by his explosion of Dust. He swiped up and in, aiming for my abdomen, a lightning-fast lethal slash. I had recovered just enough to block the slash by swatting it off to the side with a one-handed parry. Casper, having a changeable footwork, shifted slightly, pulled his knife back, and went for another kick to my face.

I blocked his metal-reinforced boot sole on the flat of my blade with a resounding _CLANG. _My lithe opponent, still locked into the stalemate, swept his empty knife against the belt of cartridges. I heard a click, and the blade began to glow cyan again.

_He's trying to freeze me in place again! _I noted. _Damn it, this is bad! _

I pressed harder, using more strength to unbalance him. Thankfully, it worked. Casper skidded backwards just a little more, and in steadying himself, did not throw his knife.

This brief respite I had created for myself, however, did not come without a cost. Casper was now able to let my blade continue on its trajectory without getting injured by it, so he pulled aside as it met the stage floor. His other leg came up, and he used his advantage to stand on the flat of my sword, forcing it onto the ground with his body weight. I almost pulled my hand off the sword trying to get it away from him, but I kept my grip.

Instead, I tried to use my other arm to force him off the blade, but I wasn't fast enough. With this close of a vantage point, he flash-froze my left leg with the next throw of his knife. The sudden sensation of cold and the weight seemed to compound with the last exposure to the frost, and I couldn't reach Casper without using my injured leg for leverage.

He'd trapped me.

He spun on his heel, and with a sickening _wham, _the arena followed his kicking foot's trajectory.

Everything went blurry. My aura flickered, dangerously close to disqualification. I could feel it. My neck felt strained as my head was tossed to the side. Darkness crept into the edges of my vision. I could hear my pulse in my ears. The sounds of the crowd were strangely distant and muffled. My own labored breathing was dangerously loud. My eyes happened to fall on the measurements of our Auras.

**Casper Lovewright (Vacuo): **_84%_

**Jack Gehrman (Vale): **_17%_

A whole two percent from being dropped. I'd gotten _extremely _lucky there.

I supposed at this point it was time to consider Plan B or losing, because there was no way around him assuredly slamming me against the stage's cold metal floor with his next blow. His next _rather undodgeable _blow, mind you.

The problem was: Plan B stood for "Bye, Bye, Last Tail," so the next Grimm I ate would have to be consumed by..._eugh_...eating it with my _mouth._

I'd _never _tasted one with my own tongue, because I'd always had at least one tail to my name, but I had to imagine that was going to taste like some _serious _dust, blood, and ass.

...well, the scoreboard had gotten blurry to the point where I couldn't even see my own Aura level. I grimaced, and closed my eyes.

_When I'm picking Grimm bones out of my molars, I'll think of you, Casper, _I thought, dreading the logistics of trying to eat Grimm alive. _Here goes nothing. _

A surge of heat erupted from my body, and my Aura was re-energized temporarily. The pain lessened in my right leg. I pulled my foot out of the weakened ice, and high-kicked Casper in the chin. As he sailed back, the second knife flew out of the ice, too, beckoned by its twin, but I swung my sword at it before it could leave my range, and with a _clink, _the spent knife clattered to the other end of the stage.

Casper skidded to a halt using his first knife and stood ready. He wiped a spot of blood from his bottom lip, probably where he'd bitten it.

The crowd was on its feet. Both Kingdoms, Vale and Vacuo. I glanced at the Aura chart.

**Casper Lovewright (Vacuo): **_67%_

**Jack Gehrman (Vale): **_43%_

My sword arm tightened its grip on the blade in my arms.

I still couldn't believe that he hadn't used what I assumed was his Semblance, yet he could still push this hard. But now that it was a little more even, and I'd be less of an easy target now, there was still a chance.

"To think you'd expend your last tail," Casper mused, chuckling. Seemed his constant exertion was catching up with him. "You are full of surprises, Jack. I didn't think this would matter so much to you."

I knew he was getting tired. His shoulders rose and fell slightly more, which confirmed my suspicion. He'd been extremely active this whole time, so of course he'd be tired.

He clicked the pommel of his remaining knife, which seemed like it had expended the rest of its Dust-generated power. The cartridge popped out. He tossed it over his shoulder, and it clattered far below the solitary raised stage we stood on.

"It matters this much to _me?" _I asked incredulously. "You're the one who _won _and stuck around for no reason at the risk of getting caught. What is it _you _want from this?"

"I have to thank you for something, Jack," he started pacing around to where his other knife could be accessed. "Forgive me for ignoring your question, but a word of advice. Aside from clearing my adrenaline with that kick, and ridding me of a dreadful theatrical urge to monologue, you have - as seems to be customary with you - handed me another weapon built to cut you down."

"Explain," I growled, and charged at him before he could make his way to the other knife. Casper smiled sickeningly.

"You tipped your hand," his voice echoed like a whispering breeze behind its own sound...as he disappeared from view and my slash hit absolutely nothing. The crowd suddenly gasped, and a few people screamed in horror.

"_You handed me information you could have used, and could ill afford to lose," _Casper's voice hissed from behind me, sounding like some kind of ghostly, echoing whisper. I was about to turn, but I felt a strange feeling in my chest. Like something should be there, and like something was, while also being chillingly absent.

_No...way..._I felt my chest start to heave unexpectedly, as I stared down and my eyes met a disturbing image of Casper's outstretched, shimmering hand sprouting seemingly from my heart.

"_Your mistake was telling me they knew." _The Mirage, now entirely feared by the festival-goers, echoed. "_That was when you sealed your fate." _

I looked out over the crowd. I saw fear. Horror. Revulsion. Anxiety. But in a moment of complete and utter circumstance, amidst the sea of negativity and about to breathe my last, I locked eyes with the only chance I had.

I saw Sasha, Regalia, and Pauline preparing their weapons in their seats. They looked scared. They feared for my life.

But above all, they held the key. Casper and I, all this time, had been so similar, when I really thought about it. Both of us wanted to protect the ones closest to us, and to do that, both of us walked the path of danger in constant need of companionship.

That was how I understood him. The only thing that separated him from me was how lonely he really was.

"Casper..." I got out, the strange feeling in my chest growing unbearable. "You're fighting for...Selene, aren't you...?"

He said nothing. But for just a second, his hand had flickered just a little more. That was the go-ahead.

I took the gamble.

"You told me that she cried when you lied to her...the last time," I managed. "You said...it hurt you. When she asks about this...what will you...tell her?"

Casper hesitated, and flickered a little more violently.

Just enough time.

I dashed away, and before he could reappear or move, I released the last of my Aura boost into one slash to cut the edge of the stage where he'd been standing. He faded from view, a surprised look on his face.

The platform shuddered, and fell. For a terrifying instant, he still wasn't there. I felt my injuries start to sap my strength again, and my vision blur. I was at the end of my rope, for _real _this time.

If he came back, I would die.

My heart pounded as I awaited judgment.

Then, with a collective gasp and silence of the crowd, Casper flickered back into view, his body sprawled against the part of the platform I had severed, far below on the floor of the arena. He wasn't moving, and I saw a faint grey flash as his Aura petered out from the impact.

I smiled wanly, and began to succumb to exhaustion and pain. In the distance, the crowd was deathly silent as Atlas personnel began to rush onto the arena floor as it lowered back to surface level.

_It's over._

* * *

**Vale**

**Beacon Academy**

_Cafeteria - JSPR's Table_

About a week later, the last three letters of CYAN - Yan, Allen, and Neil, did not seem eager to cause mischief. Normally, I'd hold this change of heart over their heads. Hell, I thought my teammates might do it themselves...but they didn't. In fact, there was a dark sort of atmosphere over the entire student body a great deal of time later in the wake of Casper's arrest.

While still it remained unclear how his Semblance made him disappear in such a strange way, as he wouldn't reveal the details, he did admit that his sleep fueled such a taxing ability in order to placate the interrogators, arguing that they need only be assured he could not use it. Later, when indicted before his unanimous jury, he smiled bitterly through eyes deprived of rest.

He must have known that his life would become a living Hell from that point. They would rob him of sleep, assuredly. He would waste away in restraints, one of the greatest talents of a generation lost to time, and assuming Atlas' ethnocentrism, lost to history, too, tortured to his last by neglect.

It made me truly sad. Almost mournful.

Honestly, even I knew better than to taunt the rest of Team CYAN about their leader. They seemed to be sitting quietly at their table for once, in shock, disbelief, and who knows what else.

I didn't blame them. Even to me, who _won, _the victory felt hollow. And yes, I'd won the Vytal Festival tournament, an honor for one among thousands, and still I had the audacity to claim that it didn't feel like a victory, because it really wasn't. It felt bitter.

As for Team CYAN's other three, they had unknowingly roomed with one of the most dangerous people to Vale and Atlas, and though they themselves were cleared of blame, undoubtedly that fact did not sit well with them. It seemed Casper was right. Regret had taken his place at their table.

I also wasn't sure how to feel. Some might say that I won by relying on the mercy of my enemy, a direct contradiction to Casper's philosophy. But in all reality, even to the very end, Casper did not feel like an _enemy_. Not truly. An adversary? Certainly.

However, I could have just as easily turned out like him, going too far to protect loved ones, desperate from loneliness. Did the tragedy he lived out excuse his extreme actions? I didn't believe so. That would be a stretch, even if I admittedly might do extreme things too.

But it didn't make the whole situation any more agreeable.

My thoughts were interrupted by Regalia jumping in shock as she looked up from her meal, surprised. I prepared to stand between her and her assailant.

But it wasn't an assailant. It was just Yan, standing there solemnly. The silent one.

I felt for him more than I felt for the other two. He had genuinely seemed to get along with Casper, even just a little. I'd reviewed their match in the doubles, and they hadn't performed terribly as a team.

"What are...you doing here?" Sasha still seemed a little sore from their staring contest, but even she knew to treat him with some sensitivity. Pauline and Regalia, realizing his overall innocence in mischief-making by his team even before Casper's betrayal, seemed to regard him with some sort of sympathy.

"I can no longer hold my tongue." Yan shook his head. "All my life, I used my silence to appear less weak. Less vulnerable. But silence becomes weakness in the face of injustice and in the face of emotion. Serving under Adam Taurus in the White Fang in this branch seemed like it might be the only path to peace, through supremacy of the Faunus. But watching Casper, twisted by his loneliness, wanting to declare his own 'supremacy' no matter the cost...it made me realize something I knew deep down all along."

He began to tremble under the weight of what looked like sadness and fear. Pauline seemed to be suppressing her ever-motherly urges to reach out and comfort him in an effort to let him finish.

"In Casper, I saw Adam. I saw someone who might have once been a fearless and charismatic leader, talented and brave, corrupted by the loneliness in his heart and the world around him," Yan murmured, steadying his cracking voice. "Instead, his fearless bravery became the willingness to commit unimaginable horrors and hurt people. Now, even if I wanted to, I cannot follow either of them, and I do not know where to go. I have nothing left, because I played the strong man, and it has come time for my weakness to betray me."

Yan, upon finishing his words, turned away.

"That is all," he concluded. "It was, for a time...nice to meet your team. To witness true camaraderie. It reminded me of what Faunus used to believe the future could be. Farewell."

Pauline stepped up after him. I saw tears at the edges of her eyes. Without waiting, she hugged Yan, who stopped in his tracks. She whispered something to him that I didn't catch. He bowed his head, and gripped her hand.

They stood there for a while, merely in contact.

Then, Pauline let Yan go, and he walked back over to his teammates, who seemed astounded by his display of emotion.

"What did you tell him?" Regalia looked puzzled.

"I told him they're welcome here. That I would be here for them if they needed somewhere to be." Pauline wiped her eyes. "I think after this, that's not something they'll take for granted."

I glanced over at what was once Team CYAN. They seemed to be quietly holding each others' hands in solidarity.

I knew what I had to do.

I balled up a straw wrapper and pelted Neil with the projectile. I then made a snake hiss-giggle under my breath, and with those jungle cat ears, I knew it was loud enough for them.

Pauline looked at me, mouth agape, taken aback, and in her fury raised her hand to slap me, but suddenly, I felt someone return fire. Pauline looked completely bewildered. I smiled, and looked back over at the three rascals.

Allen had a straw in his mouth. He lowered it, for a brief instant, beaming with happiness. Neil was smiling back, too. Yan signaled to the others.

_Sss-sss-sss. _

They returned their signature reptilian giggle. It was the best teamwork they'd ever shown us.

_Lord help this world if the future starts with us, _I thought, recalling Casper's final toast. _But if it's our future..._

I watched Yan, Allen, and Neil high-five, hissing their laughs. I couldn't help but laugh with them.

_...maybe it won't be such a bad one after all._

* * *

**CREDITS**

**Word Stuff**

Author - _[[classified under FILE: 'Break Room Incident']]_

**Characters**

Jack Gehrman - _Zachary Mohammed_

Casper Lovewright - _Author_

Selene Lovewright - _Author_

Team JSPR - _Author_

Sasha - _Author_

Pauline - _Author_

Regalia - _Author_

Team CYAN - _Author_

Yan - _Author_

Allen - _Author_

Neil - _Author_

_(All canon RWBY characters are Rooster Teeth's thing and I don't own them. I'm just the narrative-weaver.)_

* * *

**Thank You**

Monty Oum, Rooster Teeth & The RWBY Team for Every Step of the Journey

_The future starts with us._


	11. POST-CREDITS

**POST-CREDITS**

* * *

**?**

**Prison**

_Deep Storage - Secret Facility_

Casper was waiting to die.

He knew how long a life sentence was supposed to be, but in these conditions, how could he be expected to live that long?

Of course, they didn't expect him to any more than he expected to himself, and they knew it.

He'd fought so that Selene Lovewright, his beloved guardian, could go on living, but they had never told him about her status post-procedure.

He hated it. They could gatekeep him with the excuse of greed, but when that greed became his advantage in realizing that they would accept the money regardless of the source, _then _they had a problem with it. Disgusting.

As long as he was going to do everything he did for someone else's sake, and leave the corrupted lives of his adversaries to continue at every turn even when he could have snuffed them easily out, they could at least have the decency to do the same for him. He only knew that when last he _checked, _she was fine, but they might have tried to change that.

As torturous as the regimen of drugs that forced him to sleep four hours a night and remain awake the rest of the day were, and as much as he was wasting away weakly in shackles, he could stand them more than the ambiguity. He didn't _know _whether or not to give in to death yet, and it was agonizing.

"Casper." His officer's voice addressed him firmly. "It's time for the dosage."

"Tell me..." Casper's voice, weak and forlorn, rasped through the comm unit that went between the cell and outside the glass. He wasn't looking up. "Is my Mom...recovered?"

"I am not cleared to tell you that," the officer answered. "But I guess thirty-one times doesn't mean anything to you. You never did listen well to authority, after all. It's why you failed."

Casper was silent. The officer reached out for the glass door to unlock it.

_Bang. _

The officer jumped back and put his hand on his sidearm, but the glass was still there. Casper had jumped up and slammed his shackles against the layers of thick glass. In his alarm, he saw Casper's dreadfully tired smirk.

"Failed?" Casper hissed, a malevolent shadow crossing his smiling face. "Here I stand before you, broken, exhausted, and at every disadvantage, yet I command your fear. And here _you _stand, audacious enough to tell me I've failed. My captor and would-be commander...if you have absolute power and yet are afraid of me..._have _I failed?"

The former Mirage had started to shimmer at the edges as his emotion rose. But the shackles hadn't left his wrists. He slumped back to the floor, flickering like a candle's flame. Grinning all the while.

The officer recovered, his pulse slowing. He returned to his bravado, realizing his prisoner was soon to disappear.

"I'd imagine you're a foot in the grave where all shattered existences lie," he taunted the fading Casper. "Just ask for the lethal dose. We'll keep it between us two. My final favor to the son of the Bladecatcher."

"If you cared...for her legacy..." Casper's voice, even though the comm, started flickering like his body. "You'd know she only put sadists like _you..._behind this glass."

"Sadists? From the boy who got a thrill from displacing the lungs from his parents' murderer?" The officer laughed incredulously. "That's rich."

"Thrilling...?" Casper breathed, his voice chillingly absent-sounding in demeanor and in audibility as he began to settle back into reality. "Still...you project."

The officer, satisfied with his prisoner's psychological torment, unlocked the glass, ready to start on the physical aspect.

He then promptly keeled over.

It took a moment to register. But Casper did eventually notice that the door was wide open and his officer was lying disabled on the floor.

"Hilarious," he called down the hallway. "What kind of stupid test is this? Close this door."

He heard footsteps slowly approach his glass enclosure from the hallway. He sighed.

"Thank you," he sighed. "Maybe if my _guard _doesn't _get up, _I might _catch a wink of sleep._"

Although, suddenly, he did feel strangely tired...but how? The dosage of medication should have kept him awake. In fact, his now-fallen officer had been at his cell to administer the _sleeping _drug. Now he was suspicious. Who was coming for him?

And was the rising sea of black in his eyes...death? Was the interested party too late?

* * *

**Vacuo**

**Star of the Desert**

_Population: Eight_

Casper's eyes fluttered open, and stared at the adobe brick of his own house. He sighed. He reached up and pinched himself on the cheek, despite his body being shaky and much less capable than he remembered it being, even without his restraints...

A moment of shock. His restraints! Where were they? How!?

Casper bolted up, then immediately felt dizzy. He let himself back down slowly. He felt his breath shorten. He recovered for a few seconds, then breathed deeply.

He couldn't help but wonder who had saved him, and why. He was certain that everyone on the continent would hate him now.

Even the closest one he'd had to a friend in such a long time. Why? Why couldn't he have seen what he'd thrown away until he'd lost it?

"My child," crooned a familiar voice. A woman's voice, one he'd long awaited hearing again. "You're safe now. Please, rest."

At the sound of her reassuring tone, Casper's eyes welled with tears.

"Mother," he rasped, his voice unused to conversing confidently since his incarceration.

Selene gazed into Casper's eyes, smiling kindly. Two pale cyan-colored irises under a gray shawl-like hood and mantle, over a fabric ensemble that consisted of a silver-trimmed tunic and longer skirt. Her waves of brown hair were mostly hidden under her hood, but were still visible from around her head.

"Yes, Casper," she confirmed softly. "It's me."

Casper's overwhelming emotion got the better of him, and he quite forgot his weakness.

"Why? Why didn't you leave me behind!?" Casper cried. "I was trying to save you. If you'd gotten caught..."

Unaware of just how much strength his confusion required, his head rushed, and he found himself on the brink of fainting. He lay back down, cursing his weakness. Selene sighed. She reached one hand towards her beloved child's face.

"Casper, my child," Selene brushed her son's forelock aside behind his ear. "I was about to say the same thing to you. But I don't think either of us get to demand that answer of each other. And that's pointless anyway! We both know _why_ we did it."

Casper finally lost control of his emotions. Selene hugged him close as he cried into her shoulder, comforting him.

"They won't leave us alone, you know," Casper warned. "They'll send investigators, _especially _now that _I'm_ with you, and I've landed myself high on a special VIP list for national security threats."

"Are you scared of Ozpin's watchful eye or anyone in Atlas after all the bold plans you've made and all the powerful organizations you've made fear your name?" Selene looked her child in the eyes, entirely serious. "Someone like _you, _afraid of Qrow, per se_? _Even _I'm_ not afraid of him."

"I'm not _you, _Mom." Casper clenched his fists.

"Of course not." The Bladecatcher winked. "But that doesn't need to stop you from being _better."_

Casper saw a glimmer of pride in Selene's eyes. She turned away to fetch a cold compress.

But he couldn't stop himself from feeling the pit of guilt in his stomach.

"Mom, I'm sorry I lied to you," Casper blurted out. "I couldn't...I didn't..."

"It wasn't right of me to do that to you, either," Selene responded sadly. "It wasn't my right to demand that answer of you. Least of all as a test. Because..."

Selene's hands clenched.

"...that was pointless, anyway. I think we both know why we did it."

Casper's eyes softened as he realized what his guardian was admitting. However, while he could not get up to comfort Selene, he realized he didn't need to. Now she was opening up to him, too. That was her comfort.

He supposed she was afraid _she _might have shared his same fear all this time. Selene turned back to him.

"We'll get you back to health, Casper," she vowed. "Then we can say goodbye to all this drama with the Kingdoms."

"You never went back to Vale because of what you did," Casper puzzled through the reason why she'd lived in the Star of the Desert for so long. "You could have easily gone. After seeing the result of my time rotting away in prison and how easily they stopped looking for you, do you think the Kingdom's ethics are the primary concern of their enterprises?"

For a brief instant, the Bladecatcher seemed stuck herself.

"It was more than that," Selene added wistfully. "I perfected the technique of bladecatching to avoid having to kill and spread suffering, and my Semblance that could put people to sleep added to my ease in achieving this potency. When it finally all came to naught in a moment of blind rage, a moment of emotion untapped for even any _well-meaning_ goal...I didn't want to face my friends, my colleagues, and show them my weakness. I fled. Ironic that trying to save face as a strong, capable Huntress, I chose the cowardly way out in the end."

The former Mirage studied his savior as she sat on the edge of the bed, emptying her well of agony.

"And I hid it from you all this time, Casper. I didn't want you to worry about me, so I hid my past, and in my illness, hid my pain." Selene trembled, unwilling to meet her beloved child's eyes. "It only made things worse. I'm sorry."

Casper found he was able to sit up now, as long as he leaned on his left arm.

"Mom," he reassured her. "It's pointless to apologize to me of all people. Because, and pardon this repetition...we both know why we did it. We hid our wounds from each other, fearing that we'd bleed on the only one we each had who had tried to heal the scar. But that vile blood seeped over us nonetheless, and the injuries worsened. The healing process is messy, too. That's what this is. But I learned something in Vale, more than combat and more than tactics. Your loved ones, if they really are close and true, will know your worst and still help you through no matter what. You and I are lucky to have lived to learn that."

Selene blinked in surprise.

"Casper, did you make friends? I'm proud of you," she acknowledged. "I'm glad you finally opened up."

"Well, don't get used to that," Casper dismissed the suggestion. "Being seen for who I was - the Mirage - has turned them against me."

Selene's eyes twinkled.

"Practice what you preach," she quipped. "I'm willing to bet that the ones who really knew who you were...the people you grew close to...they do not hate you, even if they disagree on some level."

Casper gazed off into the distance over the desert hills, off in the direction he knew Vale lay. Was that true? Not for sure, not evidently. He'd have to be in their shoes to feel their experiences.

It was something he might _never _know. But as for that, he supposed that was what trusting in a friend - their love and support - might mean anyway.

"You fought like I've never seen anyone fight," Selene put her hand on Casper's shoulder. "Through everything. I'm proud of who you've become."

As the sky turned to dusk, the pair of Bladecatchers watched the sand shift, and the familiar mirages of water appear in the distance.

* * *

**Vacuo**

**Star of the Desert**

_Day of Departure - One Week Later_

"I never thought I'd leave this place," Casper sighed. "I've spent virtually my entire life with this town as my home."

Casper and Selene Lovewright trekked towards the desert hills, ready to start their journey far, far away. Some vultures and a small bird circled overhead.

"I've spent quite a portion of my life here, too," Selene noted. "The rustic scenery really grew on me after the initial culture shock."

Suddenly, Selene let her hand creep to her weapon, a longsword gunblade. Casper, noticing, understood the gesture, and so he continued to walk as if nothing was wrong.

A few moments later, Casper vanished and allowed their assailant to cross his large, segmented blade with Selene's longsword. She grunted with the effort, but overall, budged very little even in the sand.

"Hand him over, Selene," Qrow glared into her eyes, brushing more sand out of his spiky raven hair. "Congratulations on your recovery, but your son is a national security risk."

"For _shame,_" the Bladecatcher scolded furiously. "You of _all _people should know what being irredeemable by society is like. What admirable craftsmanship went into building your _glass house _of second chances."

"_Speaking of second chances, I'm quite through with you frequently snooping around my town without so much as tipping the bartenders," _Casper's voice shimmered into a whisper over the desert wind, and Qrow found himself flanked by the Dust-knife dual-wielder. As he became more corporeal, his voice seemed more real, too. "Despite that, let the record show that I was kind enough to not displace that pitiful heart of yours just now."

"Rested well, have you?" Qrow spat. He disengaged and jumped back from Selene, landing a distance away and kicking up a cloud of sand.

"I wouldn't concern yourself with my well-being," Casper snidely mocked. "You've never done so before. Why start now? What I want to know is how _you _sleep at night."

"Last. Chance," Qrow growled, rasping threateningly. His weapon began to morph, the gears whirring and shifting, the segments curving into a scythe blade.

Casper and Selene looked at each other, and smiled in earnest.

"You have no idea how many times we've proven that line untrue," Casper laughed. "And you're about to help us do it _again._"

The sounds of clashing blades and gunshots carried for a great distance for a time. The vultures seemed to circle closer, excited, then swooped back up, startled by the retreat of a little black bird.

The townsfolk, the six remaining, looked to the hills, and only saw two sets of footprints leading from the signs of a large scuffle with no body left behind. Although confused because they knew there were more than two people, the bewildered populace eventually dismissed it as a trick of the light. The doing of a mirage.

How right they were.

No one knew where Casper and Selene were going. With their assigned investigator successfully deterred in an area with no signal, they were free to roam unopposed.

Some guessed they had left for some remote location, or set up a safe haven at some oasis nearer to home in the desert wasteland. Some thought maybe they could have snuck back into a city under a false guise and would live peacefully as civilians.

The truth?

Maybe it would be revealed in another time, in another place.

After all, as the Mirage had told his final foe in the arena: no one knew when or where Casper would come back.

* * *

**ADDITIONAL THANKS AND CREDITS**

**Patient Reader Whose Time I Appreciate**

You _(I hope.)_

**Impatient "Reader" Who Spent More Time With the Scrollbar Than the Words**

Potentially Also You

_(Hey, I'm just preconceived notated words, not a prophet. Gotta cover all my bases here.)_

_-Casper Will Return-_

...


End file.
